The Birth Of Agape
by ShittiestShipFanfictions
Summary: Armin Arlert and Annie Leonhart fell in love after years of friendship. In the first few months of dating, they encountered trouble and committed a crime that was never meant to happen. Five years later after running away to avoid a lifetime in jail, they have a baby with a bright future ahead.
1. Prologue

Today marks a week until our boy is supposed to arrive. He'll be illegitimate; a love child, but thankfully enough, his father stuck beside me through it all. It was difficult at first since my parents (Well... parent) don't agree with children before marriage. In my father's eyes it was considered sinning that I was pregnant and not married. He wanted me to abort my baby, for my lover to leave my life, and for me to come back home when it was impossible. Sure, I never wanted this baby, I never wanted children to begin with, but just because I'm not married, or rich, or "mother material" shouldn't mean anything to anyone. Yet, other's opinions never stopped me from making my own decisions. It's too late to do anything about it anyways. It's our mistake, and when you make a mistake you own up to it.

"Annie! Are you home, my love?!"

That was my boyfriend. Armin (Arlert) Plisetsky. He must've came home from work early today.

Since this is the first time you're meeting Armin, let me give you a brief description of him. Face-wise, he has a round, feminine structure, expressive blue eyes, an upturned button nose, thick brown eyebrows, and shoulder-length yellow-blond hair. When it comes to his bodily looks, Armin's even more unique. He is short in stature. I'd like to say maybe 5'6-7? No muscles whatsoever, slender, and my personal favorite: He has a plump rear. I know it sounds like he's a girl, but if this were true I wouldn't be having his baby. And don't let his looks deceive you. Armin is a true genius at heart. His planning skills are outrageous, and sometimes, I think he even knows the future. That isn't all. His grasp and knowledge with technology is beyond what this time is capable of. He built his phone and computer with his own two hands, by himself nevertheless.

Armin's a package alright, but he's my one-of-a-kind. He and I have one hell of a history after all. To think, it started when I first moved to Hesse, Germany, our old home.

The story starts off with nine-year-old me leaving Russia, my homeland. I had to move because... let's put it at, my life in my hometown wasn't exactly the best. I was poor, and before I could turn eight, my mother passed away. I don't remember much about my mother, I don't even know how she died- My father on the other hand was devastated, working day and night to collect as much money as he could to get out of where we were. My mother's life long dream was to move to Germany. She loved the weather, the history, the language, the culture, so, we moved there. It was done not only to complete my mother's wish, but to also better our life.

Once we finally accomplished the goal, I had to start school. That's where I met Armin. We were forced to work together in class and somehow we got into the subject of parenting. We learned we both lost family, Armin losing both of his parents and me losing my mother. After that encounter, we became friends. As time went on, friends became crushes, and when we turned sixteen, we began dating. It wasn't long into our romantic relationship that we messed up big time. What we did I will not say, but I will tell you that it was a very, very illegal offence, and it forced us to run away from our country. Yes, that's right. Two sixteen-year-olds jumped country borders. To where you may ask? We moved to where we live today. We went to Russia: The land of my birth. Citizenship would be easier to attain there, as I already had it, and housing was cheaper, so it was our best shot. Five years after our success, we live in a better area on the outskirts of Moscow, preparing for our baby.

Now that you know the story behind all this, I can get back to the present-world.

I walked up to Armin, giving him a slight tease, "You know I don't like pet names."

"I know, I know. I can't help it though!" Armin grabbed my hips to kiss my forehead. He then looked at me with a wide grin. "How's Little Armin doing in there?"

I sigh, "He's moving a lot like usual, you always ask like something changed when it's the same everyday... And stop calling our son 'Little Armin.' If he knew what you were saying he'd kick you in the face."

"I can't help that I care!"

"You are built like a daffodil."

I free myself from his gentle grasp, finding my way upstairs to change while feeling another kick.

 _ **She went upstairs to change her clothes. Annie did this a lot throughout the day as one moment she felt bloated and had the need to change into a sweatshirt, and the next she felt like her old self and wore a regular oufit. It's probably the hormones.?**_

Armin crept into our room with his cutesy half-smile while I was still changing. I usually don't mind it if he comes in when I'm stripping down. What made this time the exception was that when he settled in, he wouldn't stop staring at me. If he's got something to say, he better say it now.

I growl, "Is there something special?"

Armin's eyes glinted a bit in the passing sunlight. He's feeling passionate right now.

"You're carrying a full grown newborn, yet you still look beautiful."

"What do you mean by beautiful?"

I don't like it when a person gives a compliment without reason. Others think it's odd, yet do they ever think it could be sarcasm, or a lie, or that slim possibility of it being the truth. I know Armin wouldn't do that, but it still bothers me.

"Well... you've kept your shape nicely... from the back it's like you've never changed, and from the front you're a petite pregnant lady... a-and you're still very strong... stronger than me. Haha-"

"I was always stronger than you."

Another emotionless comment. Those were what I gave most of the time, even when it's a joke. Nobody thought it was funny though, and I was usually deemed as either weird or a socially awkward person. I never really had a functioning family to teach me those things, all I had was a father that treated me like I always did something wrong. Like I was the reason things were bad for us. So why does Armin care for me? Nobody else has in my life, so why? Why him?

I sigh in frustration, "How can you still like me?"

With a little bit of pink glowing across his cheeks, he said, "There's plenty of reasons... I think you're really pretty for starters. There's something about those lost ice blue eyes that can never make me leave... Your hair is so soft and a perfect light blonde. People used to joke about your nose, but I think it completes you. The way your face is shaped makes you look unique too. You're like a snow fox, I swear... And you've got a fighting personality. You may be beautiful on the outside, but I think you're even more so on the inside. After all you've been through, anyone would've given up by now. Not you though. You have thick skin, and I know if I, or anyone else is going through a tough time, you'll guide a way. Geez... I got carried away, didn't I? Anyways, we have a lot that we can relate about! Don't you think? Just because you don't smile that often doesn't mean you're miserable, or unnatural, and I love that too about you! Nothing is ever fake! Or at least, I hope!"

I turn to his gleaming self. "If all of that is true to you... Would you say I'm a good person?"

"Why do you ask so much? I've been close to you for about eleven years! I wouldn't be here if you weren't who you are. Of course, thinking of someone as good or bad is biased, but I think you're an amazing person!"

He wore a smile pure with sincerity. The fact that he wasn't lying made me feel a bit better.

"I see. Thank you."

He came closer to me, cooing out, "Low self esteem?"

"Yeah..." I sigh again.

"Everything will be fine. We left the past behind us and started a new life. He's the turning point of it all, and you'll be a great mother."

Armin put his chin on my shoulder, imitating a purr.

"Actions speak louder than words."

"Stop being a pessimist!"

He hugged me from behind, kissing the crook of my neck.

"...Shut up, you."

And so that's our average afternoon. Lifting each other up to keep sane.

 _ ***Five Hours Later-6:28 P.M.***_

The clock struck 6:28. Armin was making us dinner, while I was practicing my unarmed combat in the basement with the punching bag we owned. I bought it to train for the upcoming matches I part took in before I became pregnant. Pretty obvious what happened there, huh? All in all it's a bit boring nowadays since I have to be cautious with the baby. I don't do much, but I have to be on top of this subject as much as I can for when I go back. Whenever that is at least...

Armin eventually creeped down a few basement stairs for what I can already tell is to tell me dinner was almost finished. It had to happen soon since I could smell something frying from upstairs.

He leaned over the railing, still keeping his bright smile.

"Hey, everything will be ready in a few minutes!"

He noticed my workout clothes, and then his cheeks puffed in mere seconds with what Armin displayed as dissapoint.

"Again?" He asked.

Whenever I went into the basement, it was one of two things: Either a quiet space to read, (Our basement looks more like a tiny lounge) or this, which made him upset. Since the silence I work in is broken, there was no point in continuing for today.

While confronting him on the stairway, I asked back,

"If it didn't do anything to him before why would it do something now?"

It took him awhile to think before he spoke. When he opened up his mouth again we were already in the hall.

"I don't want my son getting brain damaged from one wrong move. I can think of ten disorders right now if something just hits his head! Babies are sensitive, you know!"

"Armin... calm down. He'll be fine. Give me your hand." Armin's palm went on my stomach. Both of us felt a small turn of our son's legs. "He's an active little bastard, alright."

He stood with sweet defeat. His son was just as active as ever, making Armin look at me with his returning grin. "...When you're practicing, is it uncomfortable? Like, does having him in there ever bother you?"

"Not at all."

I gave Armin a warm hug... or at least he thought it would be a hug.

"hUCK-"

Armin drooled a little as he dropped to the floor like a fly. I kicked his knee to give a small example on how he worries for nothing. Don't worry, I didn't do much harm.

"What was that for?!" He squealed.

"Putting you in your place again. I have control over my own body, don't ever dare to tell me otherwise. By the way, I know babies are fragile. I've been carrying one for how many months?"

There was a small silence. Armin didn't even say one word. He was frozen in place looking at the floor. Did I hurt him that badly?

"Armin, are you okay? I didn't mean to do it that hard."

"A-Annie... Look." He stuttered.

At first nothing seemed abnormal. Then underneath my large stomach was a wet spot on the carpeting.

My water broke. Our baby's coming. Armin was slapped in place with shock, and so was I a little bit. Of course, since Armin's more extra than me, he freaked out once he snapped out of place.

"He's not due for another week! W-We should really get to a hospital! But can we even afford one? Going to ultrasound appointments put us in a hole! Plus, we're barely holding onto our payments this month! Do we even have any supplies that can be used to birth a child?!"

Armin's hands were shaking and his eyes with worry. The most one could do was stroke his hair to try to calm him down.

"It's okay, everything's fine. We can't go to a hospital, you're right. I just hope you know, either way, hospital or not, it's not like he's going to come out this second. There's a lot of time to prepare."

Armin's eyes were filled with anxiety from his tense emotions. He obviously didn't want to fight about this right when it was happening. He grabbed both my hands tightly, got up and asked,

"Are you in any pain? If you don't want to go anywhere, then at least let me know you're okay!"

"I feel fine for now. Go finish cooking before it burns."

"Tell me when it gets worse, please!"

Armin stormed out with a sigh of too many mixed emotions. Sometimes I wonder who's the woman in this relationship...

I changed to a regular outfit and had Armin ask a thousand times if I needed anything at dinner and if the pain worsened. The larger contractions did begin to settle in. They weren't too terrible, still, anything was too much to tell Armin about in his state. I know he begged for me to tell him when it would start progressing, but at the same time I don't feel like having another half hour of questions being shoved into my ears. Our boy being born safely will become his first priority once he relaxed a bit. Or at least that's what I hope.

We finished with our meal when the sun left no trace. We had nothing else to do except wait for our son to be here.

 ** _*A Few Hours Later*_**

The pain's starting to increase, it's like someone's grabbing my stomach harder and harder without remorse. It was still bearable enough to keep a straight face for when I have to tell him. Armin is the father after all, he has to know eventually.

Going upstairs to our room was never any fun. Having an extra person in the front made it unclear if you were leaning forwards or backwards, and lifting a leg after another felt like something was attacking your bladder with every step. It was usually quick, as long as those parts were ignored.

"Ar...min?"

Slowly opening the door revealed my side of our room first. All of it was cleaner than I left it, it even smelled much better, and it didn't have a bad scent before! My bed was made and cleaned, there were a few towels laid out too. Two on top of the sheets, two folded on the side. On the dresser to the left of the bed was a neat pile of clothes for our child, and Armin's favorite childhood blanket. He told me he wanted to give it to our baby as a present to show how much he loved him.

"Hey!" Armin turned with that gleaming grin again. "I felt bad that we can't go to a hospital... so I tried to make something better... it's not... but it's enough, right?"

"It's perfect. Thank you..."

He chuckled, "It's nothing much, that's my job as a parent isn't it? I promise I'll be the best dad possible, even if times are hard! So what did you want me for?"

"Oh, you wanted to know when the contractions were progressing, right? Well, they're starting to. Just... thought you should know."

"You've been in labor for three hours already, of course they'd be getting stronger. Hell, maybe you've been in labor longer than that and we didn't notice. Also... I'm... sorry for my behavior earlier, Annie. I've been worried about you and this baby since the day we found out you were pregnant. When the time finally came the pressure of having a child built in my every vein."

There wasn't much to say to that other than to nod.

"I might be asleep when you're ready. Wake me up when the time comes."

I joked, "Why wouldn't I? This child is half you, you could kiss your ass goodbye if you missed it."

"Heh... it's getting late. Get the most sleep possible, you'll need the energy."

"Goodnight, Armin."

He was given a light peck on his lips, creating a smacking noise.

"I love you."

He kissed me back.

"I love you too. You're going to be a great mother."

 _ **The hours passed by and every second slowly got worse. Each wave of pain came for a couple of seconds, then went away only to come back the next minute. Then they literally started coming every minute. Annie suffered, but by her just being her, she tried to play it off as nothing. However even for someone of her strength, she couldnt manage to pull that off. The shocks of her muscles tightening were too much at a certain point, even for her...**_

My body said to go to sleep, but my brain said stay awake. The indulging pain in my abdomen didn't help in the slightest either. It was far worse than when I first went to bed, at least at that time I could deal with it. Now I want to rip this thing out of me! He probably wanted that too since it felt like he was moving down already! I was gonna wake Armin's ass up to tell him that I'm ready to squeeze this fucker out right now whether he likes it or not!

But Armin was... already awake.

"Haha... I can't remember the last time we've all hung out together... You, me, Mikasa, Marco, Jean, Sasha... Everybody."

Armin had his cell phone to his ear while he was looking out of the window that was between our beds. It was a guy on the phone, I could hear the voice from my bed. It was... Eren? He's been Armin's best friend ever since they were little kids. He was like Armin's wingman; his partner in crime. Even now, they're countries away and they still keep in touch. I'm aware of the two boys calling each other from time to time, but never this late.

[Yeah, we've all missed you a lot and the good old days. They ask all the time if I know when you're coming back. Of course the answer's the same everytime. Leaving the depressing topics aside, how's Annie doing? Did that sucker come out of her yet?]

"No. He's almost ready. Any minute now I'll be holding my boy. This is probably getting lame for you, it's all that I ever talk about. How're you and Mikasa keeping it together?"

[Aww... Well... We're A-Okay! We're still in school and have a place together that my parents gave us as bribery to do a medical or science major. Mikasa works out and does her fights here and there like the lady you've got at home. To be honest with you... we aren't exactly dating... but we kinda... you know.]

"Oh god, for real?!... What happened?"

[That piece of garbadge, Jean, talked me into a drinking game that he said used lighter alcohol, but turns out that was a lie! Then he told me that Mikasa was my girlfriend when I was shit faced drunk! I asked Ymir what happened and she said that I was on top of Mikasa the entire night then took her to my room! That tomboy even had pictures of us when we were doing our business!]

"Woah... that's not like any of you guys. Well Jean maybe... But you? Since when did you believe in the horse face? Also, how did Mikasa not notice? She's not the type to give in so quickly."

[What he gave didn't taste strong at all! You know I'd never touch anything that bad! Mikasa said I didn't act drunk either, and how my breath smelled like fruit, not liquor! Ugh... I'm getting a headache talking about that jerk. I'll explain the rest when it gets brighter out... How about work for you? Did you get a better place yet?]

"Heh. Okay then... Besides our son, we now have a small house together. It's not bad at all, we actually landed in a nice neighborhood this time. Honestly I'm just glad we got out of the ghetto. Workwise, I'm a mess."

[What? Don't tell me you've put your smarts to waste!]

"No! Now I'm an overworked assistant for this rich engineer guy that I gotta do all the building for. I'm nothing but a rookie though, that's why we're still leaning a little on the poor side."

[Damn! Continue to get better with the building part, and you'll be rich as hell! To think, runaway Armin fled to another country and built a life without us! Should I be proud or offended?]

"It's nothing... Just providing for my family like everyone else. God, talking about this makes me want to come back so badly. It's been years after years and I'm sure everyone's grown up by now. I want them all to see our baby, and we can build what we couldn't. But... it could still take a while."

[Don't get too sentimental. We'll always be best friends, Armin. Don't forget that. Sometimes you think you're no good, but you mean a lot to everyone back home, and you're a father now... God I remember just being kids the other day.]

A woman shouted from the other line, it was probably Mikasa, another one of Armin's childhood friends. She was like the guardian of the two boys. Whenever someone tried to bring harm to them, she'd be there. From what I remember, we didn't get along too great...

[Eren! It's three in the morning! Go to bed!]

Eren yelled back at her with a nastier tone.

[Okay, sheesh! I'll be up in a minute! Armin, gotta go! Good luck with the baby!]

"Thanks, Eren. Hopefully we can see each other soon."

[Damn straight we will. Everyone sends their love, and they all miss you. Goodbye.]

"Later."

**Beep**

Armin wiped a few tears rolling down his cheeks, looking at his phone. He wasn't hysterical, his expression didn't seem dismally, nor was he sniffling. He was just... crying.

I sat up with Armin still focused on his phone.

"You miss him?" I mumble.

Armin jumped from my voice, stuttering, "A-A-Ann... did... how much did you hear?"

"Almost all of it. It's not much to be ashamed of. You're homesick. We've made bad choices, and it brought us here. Nowadays, going back there seems impossible."

He calmed himself, sitting down next me. "Yes, we did make extremely stupid decisions when we were younger. It doesn't mean that it led us to anything bad now! It's all in the past and all of those searches are probably done for! Hell, we're going to be parents in a few hours. By the way, how are you feeling? Didn't I tell you to sleep?"

By coincidence, another shock of torture came about.

"I'm doing awfully... this little shit's been keeping me up the whole night! My front side shoots in agony for a few seconds then stops! It's getting to a point where I can't hold it anymore! The whole reason I'm awake was to tell you that I'm ready!"

He looked at me confused, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying... He'll probably be born any minute... I'm ready to give birth..."

Armin's jaw dropped. More than it ever had in our entire relationship.

"Are you sure?! It's five in the morning! I can't help deliver a baby at this hour!"

"If you can be on the phone and if I can do the physical labor, you'll be fine."

He held my hand, looking into my eyes in the moonlight.

"Then... let's do this."

 _ **On Armin's perspective...**_

What was she saying?! Did she really mean that she's going to give birth? Right now? At 5 in the morning?! I don't know how to help her, I'm barely awake! That call was on Eren's end, and my phone was under me so how could I ignore it?! Why didn't she saying something before?! God... who knows what's happening to her too... she's not very good with expression, but she's suffering in there. I can tell she is, it's just there with her.

I gulped, "So we're just gonna... take your underwear... off..."

She snapped at me, "No shit Captain Obvious."

Annie stripped herself from the waistline below. She positioned herself in a kneeling pose with her legs spread on top of the towels.

"You sure that's how you want to do this?"

She looked at me with a face that said "The hell do you think?" The most support I could do after that small screw up was wrap a thin blanket around her back, thighs, and rump.

I asked her, "Do you want to hold my hand?"

"Sure, thanks." Her hand intertwined with mine, and thus parenthood began...

Annie squeezed my hand mighty tightly as she pushed, which hurt like hell! Nevertheless it couldn't have been nearly as bad as what Annie's feeling. What was happening to her could never compare to a bruise or being numb. Her body was tearing itself open to make way for a small human being. It was her body being drained from this, not mine. Along with those awful factors, she miraculously didn't scream once. Her face merely turned red from constantly trying to push a being out the size of a watermelon without stopping. If she were in a hospital she'd definitely get scolded by the nurses for stressing herself. Although they do it for a reason. Maybe I should too?

"You're doing so well... Just don't strain your body. You can do this!"

She didn't say anything, instead she groaned and got even more red than she already was.

It was then she shouted, "Armin, I think the head is out!"

Annie took my good hand to her nether regions as well as forced me to physically touch what was without a doubt the crown of our baby. To be honest, it was uncomfortable to touch... those places with all the slime... and blood, yet at the same time I knew that was my son down there. The creature that was made by us, our creation made from our blood and flesh alike. It was all happening too quickly. Her labor was going at a much faster pace than it would for most women. From what I know, it's supposed to take an hour on average for the first baby to be born, not a couple minutes!

Annie took my hand away from her areas, then crushed both my hands. I couldn't even squeal from it. Comparing her pain to mine made it easier to cope with. Even after she continued to squeeze my hands while pushing, it was still manageable for me to kiss her head and tell her she was doing amazingly.

It wasn't long after until she groaned out, "Here it is!"

Just like that with a final blow, a baby was on the bed, crying. The moment Annie brought him up all covered in bodily slime with the towel beneath her, we realized we created something extraordinary.

She took a quick look to see if our son was indeed a son, then brought the baby to her chest in one of the towels she gave birth on.

She peeped, "It's a boy..."

"Annie. You're crying..."

I wiped the tears falling from her crystal blue eyes. She then looked at me with her face still a bit red. "Aren't we all?"

That's when it hit me that I was crying too. The tears weren't streaming down in rivers, they were there though.

"Who's cutting the cord?" I ask in excitement, as well as trying to change the subject.

Annie looked down at our son with a slight smirk. "You're the father, it'd be natural if it was you."

Annie lifted our newborn son once he calmed down to tie the umbilical cord in a knot. The scissors on Annie's dresser were in my hand the next second ready to cut it. My legs felt like they were about to collapse when I looked down at him. Blood and slime was on him, but he was still gorgeous.

"I'm waiting."

Annie looked at my hands impatiently, waiting to just grab the scissors right out my grasp. She noticed I was shaking like a dog, and how pathetic it was that I couldn't even do this task. I don't know how she still kept her adorable half-smile.

"I'm about to faint..." I murmured.

Looking down at his pouting expression made me feel lightheaded. He was just so cute... And he was my baby! He was going to grow up far too quick next to us, from his first words to going to college, and when he would find love himself... it's overwhelming to see it all when right now he's still new to this world!

Annie knew my condition, and she growled, "You better not-"

Annie's words didn't matter. What was happening was inevitable. The world was spinning a circle, then it became too blurry to see anything. There was a slight ringing throughout the room while everything became even more unclear. Then when I was slowly accepting my fate, the ringing stopped when everything went white. Then I heard a snip noise, then there was only black.

 _ **Armin was out cold after that. Annie helped him onto the bed next to her with the baby on her chest. She took care of the rest of her delivery by herself, putting the 'undesirables' in a bag, which went into the trash. The newborn was fed by his mother, cleaned, and given a diaper. He was also wrapped in Armin's favorite blanket that was pink with yellow kittens on it for warmth. Two hours after, Armin came to his senses...**_

"Armin? Are you waking up?"

Annie's pretty face was the only thing I could see. Her light blue eyes glistening like crystals.

"Huu... What happened? Where's our baby?"

"You blacked out while cutting his cord, you did it though." She gently cradled the blanket which I saw my son sleep in, and... Annie was doing something she rarely ever did. She was smiling. Not a small smirk, an actual, teeth-showing grin.

"I'd let you hold him but we don't need any more accidents happening."

"No, no! I can handle it! Please, let me hold him." I begged.

She sighed, knowing that I had the right to hold my own baby. She secured him in my arms, making sure if I fainted again I wouldn't drop him.

In that pink blanket was my child. Now that it's been awhile since he was cleaned from the blood, his face showed more features resembling us. So far, he was definitely Annie's son. He had her lips, her eyes, especially her punk face. In general, he wasn't a Little Armin. That doesn't matter anyhow, he's still an adorable baby.

"Amazing what we've created. So what'd you do with the... after-birth?"

"It's in the trash outside. We don't need it, do we? I mean, unless you wanted to eat it... I'm kinda glad you missed that part. You'd knock out a second time if you witnessed it. Also, he was just fed, so don't worry about that either."

I was too caught up in our boy to pay attention to most of what she was saying, even though I had asked. Annie moved closer to us trying to get a good look of him as well.

That's when she brought up something that needed my attention,

"He still needs a name... of all the things that were prepared for him, this wasn't one of them. Let's give him something that fits the country better. It'll be good for when he grows up here."

"Why not just pick something that can be used anywhere? Although, it's a bit hard since there's not a lot of them... Weren't you born around Moscow?"

She nodded, "Yup. Mom and I were born in this area. Not in a good one though."

"Now what's multi-cultural and can be used here? You've lived here longer, you should know!"

Annie then just shrugged. "I don't know... You mentioned multi-cultural."

"Well... think of anything. How about Alex? Isn't it the same everywhere?... Stick with that and we can be a triple A family too! Haha!"

"I don't feel exact with it. The triple A thing is kind of cliché too."

Ouch.

"Okay, it's not that important anyways. What else?"

Then she asked me something I hoped she wouldn't, "What was your grandfather's name? I know you two were close."

Of course, I tried to evade the question.

"O-Oh? It's been years since he died so we shouldn't name our son after him because of pity!"

Annie didn't give a damn. Her expression became cold, too cold for me to withstand.

I cracked.

"It was George, alright?..."

"What's the variant of that?"

"Hold on, let me check."

I retrieved the computer I always had next to my bed, then sat next to my newfound family. My fingers typed the question into the keypad. The answer came up on the screen after a few clicks.

"It's Yuri. Do you like that one?"

Her brain was thinking long and hard about that question. She definitely liked it.

"It's not weird... in fact... it's cute."

We both looked down at him sleeping peacefully as her hand caressed his plump cheek. Annie tried to coo him. It didn't sound like it, but her attempt at least sounded caring. "Hello, Yuri."

The baby gave us a small hic sound in return.

"Could that be a sign of approval?"

Annie smiled again, even giggling this time. "I think he likes it."

And so, it's official.

Yuri Plisetsky.

My baby boy. My first child, and who knows, maybe my only child. Who knew all my wrongdoings and traumas would follow to a girlfriend I would do anything for and a baby I'd protect with my life's cost. I don't think I've been this happy... ever, really. I can finally shove all my dark griefs over to make room for another light. Where this next chapter of my life will take me? I don't know. I'm sure for one thing though. It will lead to something greater.

I gave the love of my life a warm, long kiss on the lips, followed by words I truly mean.

"I love you, Annie. I can't wait to raise this baby by your side."

 **/A/N/**

 **I can't write well and I'm so sorry for that. My LA skills are horrible, but there needs to be an AU like this! This is my first actual story, and I apologize if it sucks. PLZ share it I'm desperate to be better.**


	2. One Night Ago

**_Ayyoo! To all the readers, (which there are none lmao) this is a little spin off story. Remember last time in the previous chapter how Eren was telling Armin he did some naughty-business with Mikasa? Well, here's how it all happened..._**

 _February 3rd, 2001_

In the cold midst of winter, there was a small gathering at my place. I just moved into my new apartment in Frankfurt that my parents mainly paid for. I was still unpacking with my roomate, Mikasa, and most of our other friends who decided to help us out. There was... what... ten of us altogether? It shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but we were all friends trying to have fun in the process. There was a bit of alcohol in the mix, which was a bit suspicious since the horse, Jean brought most of it.

Long story short, the day was almost over with. We all were laying around doing our own thing - talking, watching television, or being stupid, young adults. Me? I was in the kitchen feeling drained as hell. I had to move two mattresses, an enormous couch, and clean the bathroom floors.  
But before I could fall asleep, I heard my name being called.

"Hey, Eren. You wanna play a little game?"

Ugh, you gotta be kidding me... That was Jean Kirschtein. We've been rivals since day one. That brown-haired bowl-cutted douchebag is always trying to pick a bone with me. Either it's a teasing or him trying to pick a fight. Why I let him in my house, I don't know. Maybe it's because of freckled-face Marco. He's another good friend that hangs around Jean all the time. How, though? How does Marco stand Jean? It's hard to name a few good things about him... he's loyal... And I guess he can bake well. But that's it.

Back to reality... Jean had one huge glass bottle in his hand, swaying it back and forth in my face while the liquids followed his movement. I pushed it out of my view, trying to ignore his annoying horse ass.  
"No, not really when it's with you."

"Come on! You haven't even heard what it is yet! Every time Mikasa says your name, take a shot of this. Whenever someone, besides you, calls me horse face, I take a shot. The number one rule is that you cannot tell anyone we are doing this. Come on, not so bad, is it?"

"Is it hard liquor? If it is, what type of idiot do you take me for?"

"Oh, no it's pretty light. I made it myself. Here, taste it."  
That smirk could never be trusted. He's plotting against me, what else is new?

Jean took the bottle, pouring a bit into a glass next to me. The liquid was a bright orange color, making it look sweet. Taking a swig of it, it turned out he wasn't joking. The drink was concentrated from the alcohol with tropical fruits, making it taste sugary and sour. This should be easy if I stay far away from Mikasa. Time to put this horse to shame!

"Alright. You're on."

We shook hands, looking in each other's eyes. We both could feel the slight hatred for each other, especially me with his sharp, shitty brown eye color.

"Who's on who?"

Bertoldt Hoover walked in once we settled our bet. He's a shy guy who's usually in the background. The dude's constantly doubting himself, saying how he's a poor excuse for a man and such. None of us think of him like that at all. Bertoldt's a gentleman and a monster in height, something the ladies tend to love. His height is 192cm (6'3), so comparing the rest of us to him, he's colossal. He's also tan skinned with a long face, dark brown hair and brown eyes with a green outer ring. How this guy does not have a girlfriend yet is beyond explainable.

"Is this another one of your guys' stupid competitions?"

That girl is Ymir... uhhh... let's go with Ymir Reiss, since that's what she'll be when she's married. She's the tallest girl we know, as well as having boyish looks. Her hair is dark brown, on top of her skin and eyes being caramel colored. Not to mention her face is covered in freckles. Ymir's persona though is... _*_ _Whew_ _*_ many things. One moment she's laughing, and then the next second she's a crude, selfish, uncooperative, inconsiderate little bitch. Luckily, today was one of the good days where she's making jokes and actually being helpful.

"What? Stupid competition?"

Now Connie Springer, a guy on the short side with a shaved head and hazel eyes, appeared from behind the second he heard the word 'Stupid'. He's usually determined to show off his talents with a sense of cheerfulness, despite his diffused brain. Although he has never been the sharpest knife in the drawer, he's still attempting to get his dream girl. Which you have to respect him for because it's been 20 years with the same results.

"Is it an eating contest?"

The last one to ( _hopefully_ ) join us was Sasha Blouse. The girl is average throughout when it comes to appearance, having maroon hair and amber eyes. She's dense yet outgoing like Connie, but holy crap does the girl eat. If anything involves food or could involve it, you can catch her waiting somewhere. Oh and... she's Connie's dream girl, if you were wondering.

I had to break their useless tension. Especially if Connie and Ymir are in the same room together. Those guys could only be in a room for so long without choking one another. I'm not even exaggerating on that last statement.

"No, chill out. It's a... joke between us. Heheh..."

Sahsa then yelled back, "Alrighy, now get your lazy bums out here! We just finished the shelves, now it's time for the accessories!"

All of us in the room groaned. We've done so much today, now there was more to come...

* * *

Everyone chipped in with the decor. It was mainly things like towels, clothes, pictures, Mikasa's dumbbells... all of the smaller details. Everyone present took an hour at the most, considering that were all looking through the photo albums. You know, as a throwback to childhood. Jean kept making fun of how my butt was showing in one of my baby pictures. Stupid asswipe... Thankfully Reiner Braun, a tall, buff, blond, army cut-haired intimate, stopped him. The dude's honest, a leader, a big-brother to everyone that knows him. When the others can't settle fights within our group, it's Reiner and maybe Mikasa that brake it up. There's just one fun fact about him: He _really_ likes women. ( _Krista especially_ )

Once we officially finished moving in, it still felt like something was missing. My phone was next to me on the sofa... Maybe texting Armin would fill the void.  
The messenger showed my chat history. Everyone on my phone has a dumb contact name, what'd you expect when we're all dimwitted?

ErenYEAHger:  
[Wazzup? How's the future dad doin'?]

ArminTheBean:  
[I'm flattered you care. The only thing is, Eren, I don't think you get the concept of time zones. For you it may be only ten, but it's midnight for me.]

ErenYEAHger:  
[So? A lot of people stay up that late.]

ArminTheBean:  
[I have a job and a pregnant girlfriend to worry about. Goodnight!]

ErenYEAHger:  
[Goodnight... ;-;]

That went horribly...

I must've looked as disappointed as I felt because the midget of the group, Krista, asked with concern written all over her,  
"Who are you texting?"

"Armin," I answered.

"Huh? Is he okay?"

"Is it Annie's due date already?" This time, Bert stormed in with his Annie senses raging.

"He's fine! Both of them! We were just catching up... Sort of..."

Krista and Bert both looked away once I gave them a confirmation. They were smiling at someone. I didn't care who it was until I saw the red scarf. This could only mean one thing...

"Eren..."

It meant another shot. I tried to avoid Mikasa during the entire competition... it didn't work out too well. She follows me everywhere like I'm her son. Ignoring her would be the best solution, since she'd get the hint I don't want her around.

"Eren, why do you keep ignoring me? When I am around you're always drinking."

Fuck. That's two in one minute. It's bad enough I feel buzzed. At this rate I'll be a train wreck by the end of the night! I didn't want to pour the drink in, but Jean's watching me from the dinner table on the other side of the area. He seems tipsy... what a freaking lightweight. He's a lucky bastard though... He's not as close as to where I'd be in a few minutes if this continued. Well, the bottle was sitting in front of me. Bottoms up.

"Don't over do it, Eren!"

Okay... this night was going to be amazing for our guests... but horrible for me.  
I just hate how she treats me like a little boy. I get it, you care. We've known eachother since little kids. It's normal. But there's a certain limit.  
"I'm not underaged, calm your tits. I can handle a few. Besides you've been doing the same as me!"

"Not as much as you. You've had three of those already. Eren, please slow down."

It's times like these I'm happy we own moderate sized shot glasses. If it were the enormous double ones, I'd be screwed right now.

"Mikasa! Relax! I. Am. An. _Adult_!"

Bert and Krista left us alone, and were snickering behind our backs the entire time we argued. They continued to laugh by the time Mikasa stormed into the kitchen. Sometimes my friends could be heartless...

The bottle was right there. I poured its sweet liquid into the tiny glass. I had to take in four as soon as possible, and I did. Hell, that stuff is really good. It barely tastes like liquor, but more like fruit juice. One glass of it shouldn't hurt, right?

 ** _Eren... little did you know that was one of the strongest alcohols known to mankind. Jean excells in brewery, so he knows how to cover up the strong tastes and colors._ _Even_ _something as strong as JagerMeister (I did my homework on this rip)._ _Once that glass of liquor was empty, Eren was gone for good._ _In an hour, he crashed on the floor. Here's the result of when he began to wake up:_**

Imma feeilinhg gucd. I cannut thenk streight... but... I can stil talklk. I nott drunkn... no...no...

Thets wen tje bish yimeer... did stuf...

"Hey, horseface... Did you make Eren like that?"

"Haha... No, not really."

Oh... that fuckfint... jerkek... he sett me iup... didnttr hee?

"Not really? So you did?"

"Mmm... guess."

That fereckled slutt had a smurk... what she planning?  
"Well, horseface. I can tell by how much your horseface is getting more red as the night goes on, your horseface is lying to us. So horseface, what are the chances your horseface did this?"

Oi yumeer... she smaile. Ine...two...threrree...fiour...fivev...

Thein Conenie...  
"Nah! Horseface Jean could care less about Eren!"

Anether hoe... conennies hoe...  
"Why are we calling him horseface so much all of a sudden?"

That idiot... has to takerk... eightth in one go...

And he did it...! Nwo he's gonna get wasted...

 ** _Hello, third person narrator here again! Sorry for the interruption, but Eren's too drunk to speak words, and I'm pretty sure you're done reading with his point of view. So I'll just take it from here until someone else wants to go. Basically, after Jean had to indulge eight shots, he felt the wrath of the alcohol on him right after. He even became worse than Eren! As time passed, it only got more horrid. He was about to pass out on the floor from his own idiotic tricks... again. The best part? No one except Marco helped. Even then, good ol' Marc gave up eventually and gently placed him on the leather sofa. Now, him and Eren were dozing around in their own worlds._**

"Hhhhaaaa... yew knwow, Erun... Miksa... she's yer grilfreind now... right?"

He looked at Jean with confusion, "Is she?"

"Yeah... go tui her... maikke it nishhhhe..."

Surprisingly, Eren had the capability to still stand up. The boy didn't look like half the mess he really was. His cheeks weren't red like most people, and he could talk with others being able to understand.

"Okay... I can trust you... I think. Again, I love Mikasa?"

"Yeah, yerrr coote togatger and ssie blushhhh... near yeeewww... luckky."

Jean seriously needed a tall glass of water and a whole rehab dedicated to him. His words were too slurred to create proper sentences, nevertheless he was barely focused on breathing. Still, Eren acted like he fluently spoke Drunk Jean-ese.

"If that's the case, I need to protect her."

Now the doped up Eren made his way to the kitchen where the girl he was looking for stormed off to. Her head rested on her arms. She was awake, but looked as weary as the rest of the crew.

"Mikasa."

She turned around instantly at his voice, asking with no clue of his state of being,  
"Hey, Eren. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling nice, it's not as bad as you think..."  
He continued to stare at her, focusing on her every feature. Then he came closer, playing with her shiny, black locks.  
"Damn... everyone's right... your hair's really pretty."

"?... Thank you..."  
Mikasa glared at Eren in slight perplexity, as he'd never give words of kindness to her.

"Your eyes too... they're such a dark color... my soul gets lost in them..."

"When did you start giving me compliments?"

"Since I felt bad about treating you poorly. I'm constantly yelling at you for stupid things. I'm sorry..."  
Eren went in for an embrace, and Mikasa accepted it.

She patted his back, saying, "It's okay..."

A few moments later, the fluff was ruined...

"If only we did more than hug..."  
Eren attempted to slide his hands near Mikasa's * _Ahem_ * rear end.

"What?!"

Mikasa pushed him off with her nose growing pink. Eren didn't care. He still was going for it.

"It's been years of you caring for me. It had to come out sooner or later."

"Why... now?"

"Like dad used to tell us... There's a time and place for everything, even if it's not expected." Eren held his hand out as an offer for her to stand up.  
"Forgive me?"

 ** _She blinked rapidly, not knowing what to do. Wondering_ _what's_ _on her mind? Well, heck!_ _I'm_ _the writer,_ _let's_ _take a look_!**

I know he's not completely sober. He'd never give me these compliments on a daily. However, Eren's not exactly wasted either, which is good at the least. I don't smell the liquor either, his breath is more like pineapples and berries. At least he isn't like Jean.

"I'll be back, wait here."

Eren just... left. What was he planning? Do I even want to know?

Right when I needed reassurance, it turns out Sasha overheard all of that while getting a soda can. Her eyes were a bit wide, and she opened her smirking lips

"You know, when certain people take in alcohol, they tend to be more honest."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh! My mom told me as college prep! They speak their minds more without knowing! Who knows, maybe Eren liked you this whole time."

This girl was never the person you'd go to for romantic advice. No. You wouldn't go to her for any advice. If her mother told her though, how bad could it be?

"If you say so..."

"I'm sure of it. Ma never ever said a lie!"

Footsteps trailed closer in my direction shortly after. lt was Eren returning from whatever he was up to.

"I'm back..."

He sat down next to me, nuzzling my arm while that girl was still standing there, grinning at me.  
"Still, since when did you two become lovey dovey? It's so random!"

Drama would rise if I told her, so I lied. "It's nothing... We're all tired, aren't we"

Sasha shrugged, then was gone. Finally, we were alone.

"Mikasa... I wanted to show you something. It's upstairs. Come on!" Eren snatched my arm, heaving us to what would be his bedroom. He didn't even shut the door... Yet again, it was midnight. Who would want to talk to us at this hour?

I was going to ask about what he wanted. That was until he started unbuckling his pants... There's a bump near his pelvic regions... and there is a blue wrapper on the floor... I know what he wants _..._

"E-Ere- !"

He held his index finger to my lips.  
"Let me show you how much I care for you this time." He removed my scarf, then unbuttoned my shirt. Now he's looking at my breasts.

While undoing the hooks on my bra, he murmured, "Beautiful."

I couldn't anything to stop him.

I... I liked it.

 ** _Huehuehue... now the fun part..._ _Take the spotlight, freckles!_**

Gah... how hard is it for people to flush? Don't they know a bathroom will smell like piss if they don't? These people aren't very bright. The only exception is my beautiful, puny, blonde-haired blue-eyed princess, Historia.

Only I'm allowed to call her Historia. After all she is my soon-to-be wife. Historia is her real name, yet she prefers to be called Krista. It's because she was abused and neglected as a child, so her birth name brings back bad memories. But not me! She loves me and me only! She doesn't even care about the fact that we're both girls. That's Historia for you, so kind and gentle when it comes to others. There's only one downfall with her elegant package: Historia lashes out in fits of tears, and can yell at me then curse the world for hours. Depression is what the doctors like to call it. It's not her fault, my honey needs someone to love her after so many years of mistreat, so that's where I come in!

Enough about us, I gotta get back to those losers.

"A-Ah! Eren... be gentle..."

What the?... Was that Mikasa moaning? Why would she do that now?... There's an open door to the right, which is a bedroom. Maybe she's having a lewd dream? Or... who knows... it possibly could be better. I did see her go upstairs with Eren a while ago.

Looking inside the room was the best decision ever...

Eren wearing zero clothing! Mikasa's tits exposed?! Is this what I think it is?! Damn, Eren's lucky! Mikasa is nicely brawned AND she's got curves! This is gonna be great... I have to tell everyone!

 ** _Aaand Ymir did. She ran down the stairs so fast, she almost tripped and broke her neck_.**

"GUYS THE TIME HAS COME-"

"Ehh... Ymir what have you been watching up there?"  
I don't know who said that and I don't care!

"NO NOT THAT! Eren and Mikasa! I heard moaning then the door was slightly opened so I took a peek and- BAM! They were getting ready to go at it!"

"HUH?!" Marco's freckled face turned whiter than paper. That guy probably pictured Eren's three-inch punisher!  
Get it?  
Nope?  
Alright.  
Then the dumb shit, Connie, yelled, "You're lying!"

Potato Girl gave me a dumbfounded glare, exclaiming after Connie, "Why in hell would you watch?!"

Last but not least, the perv Reiner added his two cents: "Does Mikasa have a hot body?!"

"I'm not lying! I was curious, and her tits were fully out- AND YES SHE'S GORGEOUS."

What?

I can't help it!

Reiner's male hormones were undoubtedly rampaging in his body, because the meat-head sweated buckets before he shouted-  
"I'M GOING UP THERE-"

"W-Wait!"  
Bertl ran after his horny wingman, probably wishing it was him and Annie "Having fun."

Potato Girl followed them. After her, Blockhead Connie tried to convince Marc to go with us.

He hid his face in his hands. The freckled puss was turning into a tomato.  
"This so messed up..."

"C'mon Marco! You're a guy just let it happen!"

Right after Connie managed to get the Horse-Lover to join, Historia stopped right in front of me as I was about to follow everyone. She's wearing her Ymir-did-something-naughty-and-she-needs-to-fix-it face. When it's like this, she tries to pull me out of my 'Bad intentions.'  
And here it comes:

"Ymir! This is rude and you know it! Let those two have their privacy. Sex is a natural instinct that shouldn't be idolized!"

"Come on, Historia. Have a little adult fun-"

"I will n- Hey!"

I grabbed her wrist, dragging her upstairs with me.

"Was that an 'I will' I heard?"

Haha! She got so angry after I said that! Her body became red and hot, two things she did whenever she was trying to keep in her fiery rage.

"Let go of me! Oh, come on..."

Historia saw everyone crowd around the entryway. It was cute, her cheeks puffed like a chipmunk! Historia's most adorable when she's seething.

"You guys, this is so wrong!"

No one listened. We all bundled around the opening of the entrance, trying our best not to get caught. We heard feminine moans came from the other side, with no doubts it's Mikasa.

"Agh... Ah! Eren... Please go slower..."

They both were banging on a bare mattress in the center of one of their rooms with a red scarf binding them. Only the upper half of their bodies could be seen. This was enough, no complaining here! From what everyone could see, Mikasa was on her elbows and knees, taking it like a champ!

"Turn around... I wanna see your face scrunched in pleasure."

I don't think I've ever heard Eren talk with lust before! This was all overwhelming! Bravo!

Aaaahhh... Her boobs were peering in my direction for a split second when she moved! But that damned scarf Mikasa carries around covered her chest! It's okay... it's okay! Her whimpers are satisfying enough.

Reiner apparently thought so too, because that idiot basically shouted,  
"This is so hot!"

We all shushed him, and I'm almost certain Potato Girl said "Shut the fuck up."

"Is there someone out there?"

Shit! Shit! Shit! She heard us!  
Wait.  
Nope we're good!  
Eren kept her distracted by sucking on her pale neck while he kept ramming into her.

"Don't focus on that. Think of me... Think of how it feels to know I'm inside of you."

Oh god...  
There was drool all over my chin, but I didn't give two shits! This moment had to be preserved for the rest of time! I had to take a picture!

Where did these people keep the electronics?! I know where the crates of belongings are since I clearly remember moving them! Let's see... There's opened boxes everywhere! Eren's clothes... no... Mikasa's nunchucks... the fuck? Ah! Devices! It had to be in there!

AND IT WAS! AHA! This was gonna be great!  
I almost killed myself again by rushing to where everyone was.  
Welp!  
Say cheese!

 *** _Click_ ***

Ha! The picture was perfect! Historia was under me, looking up super pissed, which made it ten times better! Then I made a fake surprised face with my hand partially covering my mouth! It was beautiful! A masterpiece! On top of it, it looked like Mikasa hit her climax!

Goddamn! They were panting like freaking dogs!

Then...  
Oh no.

"Guoys whath up?"

Crap! Horseface woke up! He couldn't be here! His loud ass would definitely give away what we are doing!

It seems as if everyone felt the same, because we all yelled/whispered, "Jean! Go downstairs!"

Fuck! He was heading for the door! Why wasn't anyone trying to stop him!

"Where... what're y'all doing here? Eren's sleeping cuz he's wasted frum ours gaem. I freakin hijakeekd juice stuff withs... seid ir das essen ne i wisidie yeee gaaa..."

This time, we didn't whisper.

"No! Jean, stop!"

Jean fell over on the door when shitface Connie accidentally pushed him. He collapsed right in front of the mattress. Unfortunately, Jean was still breathing. Soon enough that would change. Mikasa looked at Jean, then us in stagger, and screamed at everyone,

"GET. OUT!"

We scrammed from the entrance of the room, hiding on the opposite side of the hall. The boys were jizzing their pants, while Potato Girl and I laughed our asses off. Historia... she was going to be disappointed in me for the rest of the week.

When we were calming down, Mikasa busted in with only a towel covering her body.

She had no hesitation to ask, "Were you spying on us?"

The Horse-Lover, Marco gave in.  
"No! It's Jean's fault! Both him and Eren are intoxicated! Please don't kill us!"

"He's drunk? And you knew it?"

"To a certain extent... yes."

Mikasa grew the dragon eyes. Our stay was coming to an end.  
"Get out! All of you! Go home! Don't come back!"

"What?! It's super late!"

Did the dumb shit, Connie really think that'd convince her?

"I don't care! Leave! Take that imbecile with you as well!"

We all scattered from that place immediately. Mikasa would come running any second with a knife in her hand ready to stab us all.

* * *

Historia and I scurried to my badass motorcycle with our helmets in tow. My bike was my baby, and everybody knew. It was jet black with fire painted on the bottom portion. Historia says I'm trying to look like a show off, but she's a pure princess, and I'm a scumbag. ;D

When we were seated getting ready to leave, Historia snapped,  
"You're stupid sometimes, Ymir."

"Are you really that mad at me?"

She exhaled with fatigue, "...No. I can't be. But what you did made me upset. What if someone walked in on us and watched?"

"I'd either like it... or feel..."

"Infuriated, right?"

Historia wasn't wrong. Depending on who it was in a certain circumstance, I'd kill the creeper that would dare to watch one of our precious moments. While it was hilarious all of the events tonight happened, it made people troubled, Historia especially, the most important opinion of them all.

"I'm sorry. I know I got a little carried away. Tomorrow I'll make it up to you."

"How?" She asked in her soft tone of voice.

"First, we'll go out on a little date, it can be anywhere you want to go for dinner. Then we'll come home for dessert. Sound good?"  
I winked at her. She looked down and blushed. Heh, she can never stay angry at anyone.

"O-Okay. I'd like that."

"Good girl."

Historia wrapped her arms around my torso. Her pale skin touching me was better than any drug in the world. I wish she'd ride with me more, but she's too scared. She jumped when the engine roared... so cute. I could feel her heart racing against my back when we took off.

Our travel was going smoothly until there was a red light. I hated those so much. Most of the time I wanted to run right past them.  
I was gonna, until Historia nudged at me.

"Ymir, do you ever wonder what they're doing?"

"Who? The bozos back there?"

"No... Annie and Armin. Both of them are far away, missing out on the small moments like these. You might not care, but I still want to hear your opinion."

"I never talked to either of 'em a lot... I don't know. I've never thought about them."

Her heartbeat slowed down. "Hopefully that'll change soon. They are our friends after all."

The light turned green, and I didn't respond...

 ** _Reiner and Bertoldt were taking a train home. They were the only ones present in their cart. What'd you expect when_ _it's_ _late? Neither of them talked much. Bert was too busy texting his fingers into his hand._**

Jesus, Bert! How up close up can someone hold a screen to their face? I worry about this boy sometimes. He's been chasing one girl for so long. It's preventing him from being able to smile, it's getting to a point where he seriously needs to start going out and meeting different women. The thing is, no matter how much anyone tells him, he never listens.

"Why is your face in that phone so damn much?"

He barked back, "I'm checking on Annie!"

"Dude, relax. It's gotta be two in the morning for her."

"Maybe she's having bad cramps and needs encouragement."

"That's why she has Armin. You're never gonna quite with her, will you?"

He sighed, "I may not be the man she chose, but I can still be a supportive friend."

"Oh lord, here we go again..."

What was this boy so determined to tell that girl this late in the night?  
But once I looked over his shoulder to see the text, it was... a bit sad.

[Hey, I miss you... How's your baby? Is he bothering you in there? If he is, just know it'll be over soon. Any day now he'll be born. I can't wait to meet him. If you're reading this now, I hope you have sweet dreams :)]

I feel pity for Bertoldt... he still loves that woman. Even if she moved on, he still cares for her.

 ** _Marco was driving back to his and Jean's townhouse in Eschborn. Jean was looping out in the passenger seat invading Marco's driving space._**

"Armiiiiiinn..."

"Agh! Stop I'm driving!"

That's the second time Jean almost made me crash! He can't stay still for two seconds! It's like having a toddler in the car!

"Buuuttt you said you'd tutor meeee."

"We aren't twelve anymore! I'm not Armin either! Why did I allow those whiskey bottles to come with us?"

Jean rubbed up against my arm. Dear Lord... He's going to feel the worst hangover when the sun comes up in the morning.

"Come oonnn... Marco won't be jeallouss... he's not as gay as we think..."

"Excuse me?!"

 ** _Connie and Sasha walked to their separate, and conveniently close homes/rooms together._ _They were starving and_ _fatigued_ _. A horrible duo to be around them for, especially Sasha. The girl would most definitely talk about food the entire time, making whoever she was with more hungry._**

It was dark, and the city lights were beaming everywhere. The scenery was amazing, but Sasha's whining sucked the fun out of it.  
"I'm so tired... I can't feel my arms."

I couldn't argue because I was complaining too. "It would've been great if there was an open coffee shop around here."

"Yesss... Coffee with biscuits sounds awesome right now. Or Armin's cookies. Those were the best back in high school. Is he still making them?"

"There's a phone in your pocket, go ask!"

Sahsa looked at her phone, debating to send a message. It was 12:13a.m., so add two to that, and it was the time for Moscow. Hah, I'm not so bad at math!

"Not now. It's too late for that. He has a family to worry about, we'd be a burden. Geez, that can make a person think. Our friends are having children... so we can if we wanted to! Isn't that crazy?"

Did she mean we as in individuals or we as in together?! Sometimes I wish I paid more attention in class! No, I wish I wasn't full of testosterone!

I didn't know what to say, so then I just blurted, "Us?! You want a brat with me?!"

"Noooo! No!No!No! Do you have any idea how many diseases it would have with you as the father? Plus, we're B-F-Fs, and nothing more!"

Thank God she took it as a joke. If she asked why I said that, I'd never come out of my dorm room again! Wait... she said 'nothing more'... Did I just get friendzoned?

"Yah... Best frenz."

Can we be more than that? I mean, Armin and Annie were only friends. Now they're practically married. Gah... I could use their advice right now. They could advise me on how to not look like an idiot when it's time to tell her...

 ** _Back at the Ackerman/Jaeger apartment, Mikasa was still ticked off from her closest allies allowing her to sleep with Eren. After that fiasco, he was all she_ _thought_ _about._**

Eren was out cold like a sweet, innocent child. It was questionable whether he would remember what just happened, and if he woke up still feeling the same. I'm so stupid, that should've never happened. It was obvious he was drinking, Eren would never compliment me sober, so why did I let him? He doesn't like me in that way, and never will. When can the old days come back? When we were all younger, when we were all here. Everything changed when Annie came in the picture. She took our Armin, then trapped him. Nothing had been the same since then. Look at us, Eren's passed out drunk, naked, and I'm in lingerie staring down at him. It's pathetic how I gave up being a virgin this quickly, yet maybe it was all meant to happen. Like Mr. Jaeger said, there's a time and place for everything. All of this can be leading up to a greater event we don't know about.  
I kissed his forehead. It was the most I could do.

"Goodnight... I love you."

That's how the world works. There's winning, losing, eating or being eaten, creating or destroying, then birth, life, and death. It's so cruel, but also so beautiful.

 ** _/A/N_**

 ** _Imma cry mate. This was gonna be just a joke chapter for laughs and some sidestory, but y'know screw that. It turned into how the crew keeps up without Armin+Annie. The summary is, they all seem normal, but they really miss them, and not a day goes by that they don't think of them. ;m; I'm so sorry I have done this to yeh. But heeey EreKasa anybody? ;0 huey huey stay tuned for chapter... One? There's the prologue... then this is kind of chapter 0.5... IDK. All I know is chapter 1 or 3 whateva ya wanna call it will be much larger (probably) than these, which was not planned at all but what can ya do,_ _it's_ _gonna be a while. Now, I must go me friendos to create more of this good-good ;) Also, I published this reaaaallly late at night so if there's a mistake lemme know! Talk to ye_ _laturr guoys!/_**


	3. Firsts

_March 1st, 2002_

Today is Yuri's first birthday. In only a year since his birth, he's grown so much. For starters, Yuri can walk very well for a baby his age. On one of the occasional hyper days, he can stroll in the house until he falls asleep. In terms of talking... he's not the best. The most he can do is make sounds that refer to a limited amount of objects. We pray that one of these days he will say 'Mama' or 'Dada'. I tell myself that every child is unique. How true it is, I don't know.  
Lookwise, you can put it as he is not the "Mini Me" Armin was expecting. He has a chubby, peevish face from me, my lips, my eyes, and his hair is a lighter blond like mine as well. The only visible trait Armin gave him was a tiny button nose. It isn't as upturned as Armin's, but it definitely is not like my arched one. It could've been from one of his parents too, as I don't know what they were like. One thing that fazes me about Yuri though is his eye color. They're more of a turquoise color, but Armin and I both have a light blue. The chances of him having any green resemblance should be extremely rare... But hey, that's genetics for you... Or maybe Yuri is meant to be special...

"Ba! Yaya!"

I could hear Yuri stomping his tiny feet towards my room. Armin was next to him, fussing over his every move. Armin was always like this, making sure his boy was healthy and happy to the point where he was spoiled. Despite our income not being the highest, Yuri never went hungry, he always had new things from clothes to toys, most importantly, he was loved by us: His parents.

"What is it, Yura?"

"Eheeeh! Yeh!"  
Yuri's baby hands pounded at the bedroom door. Or more what was considered that for a one year old.

Armin asked, "You wanna see mama?"

"Hap!"

"Okay, come on." Armin knocked on the door, opening it before I could reply. "We're coming in!"

"Yahaha! Yaya!" Yuri giggled in his pajamas like a maniac when he saw me. His chubby arms reached as far as they could to be with me, his mother... what a goofball. Armin placed him in my grasp, and in the next second Yuri wouldn't let go of my body.

Today was March first. The day both mine and Armin's lives changed forever. It's when our dearly beloved child was born. Exactly one year ago, this laughing baby was a helpless, screaming, crying mess in a towel.

"Happy Birthday, sweetie-" I tried to coo him, even though I know I cannot do it well. Yuri knew I tried, and for that, those soft pink lips that baby had moved to my face, giving my nose a tiny kiss.

Then Armin interrupted our mother-to-child connection...

"Oh... Annie? I forgot to tell you! I have surprise guests coming to see us later today. You'll like them, they're very kind people!"

He had a beam of joy in his eyes. I don't know who these people may be, but they must be important for him to look like that. We have very little people we trust here, so this made me curious.  
"Okay... who's coming over?"

"Well... it's a surprise!" He sat next to us, rubbing Yuri's back, "If I tell you, it won't be a secret anymore!"

"What are you planning? Is it for Yuri's birthday?"

"It could be taken that way."

I know Armin's intelligence is superior, but sometimes his choices were... How do I put this? _Radical_. Somehow at the same time I've managed to trust him after all these years. I don't know how I did it, but either way, I shouldn't stress myself by ruining Armin's happiness. I'd rather focus on our baby anyways.

"Did he eat breakfast?"

There was that smile again. It was the smile of being a father. "Yup! An unsweetened oatmeal, smashed fruit and his milk. Everything's under control. Do you want me to make anything for you? It's late for breakfast, but I'd do it for you."

"No, I can handle it myself."

"If that's the case, then alright. They landed not too long ago so I gotta go soon! It's getting late. Please eat while I'm gone, okay? I can tell you just woke up."

"Okay."

Armin gave me a soft kiss on the lips. Yuri squealed from his father's rather long hair brushing his nose by accident. It was made up for by Armin kissing his son's head next. Lord, what was he planning? I might already have an idea. Maybe my father? No... Armin knows I don't want him around Yuri. More importantly on Armin's end, he wouldn't see the light of tomorrow.

Before I could realize how much time had passed, Armin was shouting from downstairs, "I'm out! Love you guys!"

I guess when he said he was leaving soon, he meant it. I shouted, "Drive safely." at him, but he didn't hear me.

Just like that, I could see Armin leaving the driveway through the window.

In the meantime, Yuri was probably due for a nap. Right after he eats, he's guaranteed to pass out. It's been a habit he's had since he could open his eyes. It doesn't matter if he woke up 5 minutes or 3 hours prior, the boy will knock right out. To be fair, this is just one of his many baby-habits.

I don't know where this is coming from, but, I love Yuri so much, I can't imagine what life would be like if I went through with an abortion. Every night when he falls asleep and his silky hair touches my chest, the fear of losing him crawls up my spine. He's such a good child. Hopefully one day he'll grow up to be a gentleman.

 ** _A half hour later at the airport..._**

It's been fifteen minutes since I first arrived here! I was waiting for a security guard to show up and tell me that I had to move for other people to come. Gah! Whats taking them so long? They said they landed an hour ago! I'm getting cold standing here! These guys are so lucky Sheremetyevo isn't far from my house. If it was any further, they would have been calling a taxi! Mmm... Scratch that idea out. I wouldn't do that. Like Annie says, I'm a softie.

Looking through the glass window of the car, the thermometer next to the clock read -1°C (30°F). It wasn't spring yet. I hate that about Russia. It takes forever for the weather to warm up, even more than Germany, and that's saying something. What happens when it does finally get warm? Four weeks of temperate weather. Not hot. TEMPERATE. This country is a big block of ice! No exaggerations! I mean come on it snowed ten times in the last month and that's considered below-average! Annie says that this is average in Russian standards but holy hell Russian people are insa-

"ARMIN-FREAKING-ARLERT!"

?... Who called me?

I turned around to two people running towards me. The faces of the people were familiar. Is it really them?

"EREN! MIKASA!"

I can't believe it... they were really here. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I ran and jumped onto Eren, squeezing the life out of him with all of my force. I missed him so much... Both of them. Was it reality?! Or was this another dream about them?! Six years was the last time... Not once have they changed. The only thing I could do was hug him and cry. Cry about the past, the present, and what was about to be the future.

Next to the weeping messes we both are, there was Mikasa.

"It's great to see you again."

She stood next to Eren, acting like a third wheel. Leaving her out wasn't fair. She was like a strict older sister to me before we parted ways. Putting her in the dust would be rude of me as a host, and as a family member.

"Don't think I forgot about you!"  
I jumped onto her afterwards. Squeezing her was more difficult since she has the body of a wrestler. I'm sure she received the message that I missed her. I really, really missed her and Eren with all of my heart.

Eren broke us out of the hug by tousling (And slightly yanking) my hair like when we were still children,  
"It's been six long, goddamn years! It's almost like it isn't real! And crap, you have a kid too! I can't wait to see the little vermin!"

Mikasa added, "Yuri Arlert. It sounds weird at first, but you get used to it."

Arler-?  
Oh... Oh! That's right!

I'm an idiot! I forgot how little I told them over the phone about switching surnames! I said it once! ONCE! And never even mentioned to them what it was! How stupid could I be?! My heart's racing! They'd be mad at me for sure!

What? You don't know? You didn't know Arlert is my birth name? Story time!  
Okay- to make it brief, Annie and I... did stuff. We had to come here because of it, and, well, we were young and scared at the time. We knew we'd get consequences and didn't want to face them. Our answer? Just like your common murder-mystery novel, we left our names back in our old home. They reminded us too much of what we did, and we wanted a new identity to keep a low profile. We kept our first names because, hey, there's a lot of people with the first names Annie and Armin. Last name on the other hand, that's the issue. Arlert is my old last name. Unheard of before, right? That's the problem. That's apart of my identity, or, my old one. The same applied to Annie, so we had to take care of it.  
When it came to the decision-making of what we'd stand by as, Annie was the one that chose the name Plisetsky. What it means is something I have no clue of. I personally have no complaints about it. It sounds nice and it's been working, so I'm happy.

Now that we're all clear about that, shall I move on?

"Umm... That's not his last name though... Hehe..." I hesitantly stuttered.

"Oh yeah... didn't you changed it? What was it again?... Hold up... Did you get married and not tell us?!"

Oh dear... Thank you Eren's density. I calmed down, and even chuckled, "We're still not married. We identify as Plisetsky now. So Armin, Annie, and Yuri Plisetsky. I'm sorry I've never said anything going in detail... it was stupid of me."

I don't think he cared because he punched my shoulder hard and laughed, "Haha! We don't care about that! It's just something that never came up. We're happy to see you in person again, and that's what matters most... Speaking of Annie, how's she taking it as a mom?"

I shrugged, "The baby definently softened her up. Now she's capable of smiling more often, and even laughs occasionally."

He gasped, "Woah! Annie? Positive emotions? That's a new one! Maybe Mikasa and I should start having kids then!"

"No. We aren't in a relationship for starters." Mikasa blushed a bit, but she hid it with her red scarf.

Eren scuffed, "Can none of you take a joke?"

And so these two people are my best friends. After all of these years of being split apart, we're finally together again!...

 ** _Back at the house, Annie was downstairs tending to the baby. Or more like she was wanting to as there was nothing to do. Changing into her workout clothes wouldn't be a good choice since there would be visitors coming soon. She waited patiently for either the baby or guests to come first._**

Yuri was sound asleep upstairs. He's very easy when it comes to napping. All he needs is his pink cat blanket by his side. Once in a while, he'll be the one to come to me, whining to put him to bed with the blanket dragging on the floor.

Outside, I could hear a car door slam followed by suitcases and footsteps. I'm assuming that was Armin with whoever this "Surprise" was. The lock turned, then I saw his yellow-blond hair peep through.

"Hello! They're here!" He looked behind himself, giving a "Come in" signal.

There were two strangers with him... who weren't strangers at all.

"Eren? Mikasa?"

I should have known it would be them. No wonder Armin was so eager to pick them up. This... this is really a surprise.

"What's up, Plisetskies! Ha!"  
There was Eren Jaeger. He used to have long, dark brown hair. Now he has the same haircut he possessed when he was 10. Grey eyes is another trait Eren has. They tend to change from green to blue depending on the amount of light in the room. For a purebred German, he has pretty tan skin as well. He's not exactly dark, but he's tan. Back when I first arrived to Germany, he was one of the first people I felt comfortable with.

"Hello. I wasn't expecting your company."

"Haha! That's alright! I know you're a bit anti-social, but it's been years! Come here!" Eren exclaimed while pulling me into a slightly awkward hug.

After he was done suffocating me, I was confronted by Mikasa. She's quite alluring, more than I am at least. I don't know if it's because she's half Asian, and that her race is rare where I come from, or if she's just beautiful. Her hair is straighter than straight, jet black, and extends to her shoulders. Her eyes match her hair. They're a dark brown that's almost black in color. She's a few inches shorter and around the same age as Eren, but is with no doubts much stronger than him.

"Hi... It's nice to see you again."  
Mikasa is usually more distant than Eren. I guess she always was, but it doesn't make this any less uncomfortable.

I guess I should at least try to be nice and supportive since Armin seems so happy they're here.

I sucked up my awkwardness and said, "Same here. Welcome to our home."

We didn't even shake hands. Mikasa and I never became very friendly towards one another. How could we even be acquaintances? I took one of her best friends away for so long. Seeing my face probably brings her hatred back.

Eren didn't seem fazed by the awkwardness at all. He was never the type to pick up on that kind of thing anyways. He looked as happy as Armin did being with his best friend again. He looked around our home, thankfully breaking the silence, "This is where you live now, huh? It's so cool! How'd you afford all of this? Back home nobody has a computer that fancy!"

"Thank you. And that... I made it all from scrap metal... it's nothing special."

Of course Armin's being modest as always. He's a genius but sometimes I think he doesn't realize how brilliant he is.

"You can create something from scratch and know every part of the electronic... That's intelligence, Armin."

Armin blushed a little bit, probably embarrassed by the compliments, before smiling gratefully.

"Thanks!... Um... Ah! Let me show you around!" Before I knew it he was already in the other room showing them around with a big, goofy smile on his face.

While Armin was giving a tour of the downstairs area to our guests, Yuri was crying from upstairs. He must've been awoken from our visitors.

As soon as I entered the room, Yuri threw a fit in his crib. If there's anything in this world I cannot resist, it's his wails for me. I can't stand hearing them, and when he's settles down because I'm there, I feel more confident about being a mother.

"Come here, Yura. Newcomers scare you... I know. They probably want to meet you as well. I'm sorry if it will be annoying."

Yuri didn't seem to care after he was being held. All he did was snuggle up to my chest with a thumb in his mouth.

He whined like a puppy for each step down the stairs. And of course, when Yuri just stopped crying, Armin was done showcasing the lower area.

Eren caught a glimpse of us, and asked, "Is that him?"

 ** _(No, Eren. They freaking stole a baby that looks like them... smh- Author ;P)_**

Nervously, I said, "Yup, this is Yuri..."

I know it's stupid to be nervous. These are Armin's friends who want to meet his son. They're harmless, but it's a mother's instinct to be protective of her child.

"He's adorable! He's got that rascal face like Annie, and Armin's shape! Look how fat he is too, I want to pinch him!"  
Whenever Eren became excited, his voice would rise much higher than it needed to be. Of course, him doing exactly this triggered Yuri's tears once again.

Then Mikasa asked as Yuri cried, "Is it okay if I hold him?"

"I don't think he'd like that too well. Yuri doesn't like newcomers." My response may have seemed a bit harsh, but this was my job as a mother to take care of my own crying child.

At that moment Armin opposed me, "Come on Annie, what's the worst Mikasa can cause? She's a family friend, it'd be good for Yura to know her. The most he can do is keep crying."

Maybe I have been too rough... No! I'm being perfectly normal.

But...

I... I can't say no to him. I've had a bad habit of not being able to say it to anyone. Trust me, I would rather not hand him over right now. But I had no choice, did I?

He was given to Mikasa, and instantly Yuri's crying stopped. All of us were blown away by the magic touch Mikasa had with Yuri. Both of them looked each other in the face, and then Yuri was fine.

She asked, "Can he talk yet?"

Before I could speak, Armin gave her an answer, "Not really. He refers to us as certain sounds, but not actual words."

"Oh... I see." Mikasa pointed her index finger at Eren with the baby focusing on it. "Is he scaring you?"

Yuri pouted at the sight of Eren, and blew him a raspberry.  
"Phhhlllppt!"

I've taught my son well. Eren on the other hand thought differently.

"Did he just stick his tongue out at me?! He's lucky he's cute. If he were Jean I'd kick his ass already!"

"Eren, it's not wise to cuss in front of a baby."  
Yuri probably didn't pay any attention to Eren anyways. He was too busy smothering himself in Mikasa's arms. When she started stroking his hair, that's when he began to doze off into space.  
"I think he's tired."

"I'll take him. He needs to get dressed." I snatched Yuri from her as fast as possible. The sensation of relief was back now that he's in my arms again.

Before I went upstairs, Mikasa said,  
"I can't wait to hold him again."

 ** _Annie went upstairs with her boy in tow. The baby looked back, blushing at the sight of his father's black-haired friend. The trio remained_ _in the den waiting for the mother and son to come back down. They mainly talked about what they missed out on,_ _and_ _what_ _they've_ _been_ _doing_ _without eachother._ _.. until Eren broke the seriousness..._**

"What were we supposed to do again?"

Shoot! I forgot to tell them about this too! This time it wasn't as important, so I said, "We wanted to go to a park for the day. Is that too much for you guys? We've never been to this place before and I heard it's great this time of year, so why not kill two birds with one stone!"

"It's more than expected since we just got here... Screw it, who cares? We'll go."

"Great! Annie should be back soon with Yuri. If you guys want to unpack the entrance to the basement is to that white door on the left. Oh, and make sure you bring those ice skates we talked about."

"Already on it!" He showed me the blue duffle bag that he was carrying.

At least he didn't forget. We established over text messages that if they were visiting us, bringing ice skates would be rational. It's Russia, there's ice everywhere. I'm not even lying! If it's not an ice rink, there's a frozen lake people are using.

While I was waiting for my friends to settle into my home, Annie and Yuri were ready. Annie carried our baby on her hip, gently cradling him as he was growing a bit antsy. I don't think she ever recognizes how great of a mom she is. All the time she degrades herself on how she was never meant to be a mother, but in all reality she is the one who loved and carried him for nine months.

"He's a little happier now."

I knelt down to the baby's level, asking him as if he knew what I was saying,  
"Hey, cutie. Ready for your big day?"

His sulky expression wore off, and his bubbly laugh echoed. "Nyahaha! Bapa, Bapa, Bapa."

While waiting for the other two, Annie and I messed around with our son. We tried getting him to say at least one word in the meantime. Like usual, luck was not on our side.

Just then, Eren walked in with Mikasa behind him. They look sleep deprived. I was about to ask if they needed more rest until he said,  
"Heya. When are we supposed to leave?"

"As soon as possible. Ready, birthday boy?"  
I gave Yuri a tiny tickle to the belly, and he giggled loudly like he usually does.

"I can't believe you guys have a kid."

"Yeah... Thank goodness he has his mother's looks."

 ** _Then they were out. The distance from the house to the park wasn't long at all. It was a fifteen minute travel at the most. When they got there, the air was more crisp than that of the city areas. They just walked right in, and to their surprise it was moderately empty. It wasn't creepy in the slightest. If anything it was a tranquil setting. The frost of the cold morning was still in place, but the plants stood out in their glory._**

While we were all making our way deeper into the park, Armin walked a little slower suddenly, falling in step with me as I had to keep up with Yuri's slow pace. He wore a somewhat anxious smile on his face. I can tell when he's about to say something I might not want to hear, and this was a perfect example. "Hey... Eren and I wanted to talk in private for a bit in here. Why don't you girls talk more while we're gone?"

Is Armin serious? Leaving Mikasa and I alone? If I can hardly talk to her with people around, talking to her alone seems impossible.  
"I'm not sure... We _are_ like rivals."

"Come on, it would be great if you two get to know each other more. I know you two can become great friends."

Again, this was an example of my bad habit of not being able to say no to others.

"O-Okay..."

If you couldn't tell, the idea of hanging out with Mikasa isn't something that necessarily excites me. What could we possibly have to talk about? We never liked each other even before Armin was separated from her and Eren, so why would it be any easier to get along now? I know Armin has faith in me to be a nice person, but I think he may be overestimating me this time. Armin looked pretty happy with my response at least. He gave me a big smile and a kiss on the cheek before saying "Thanks" and walking ahead with Eren.

Eventually, the boys left us alone together with Yuri. We didn't know what to do at all. At least I had my son to fuss over. Mikasa had to stay silent wherever we traveled off to, not making the situation any better. I can't really blame her. She came here to spend time with Armin, not me. The same applies to Eren. They came all this way to see him and Yuri. My existence is just an additional piece to it all.

"How are you doing here?"

At first I wondered who that was. It's been more than enough time with nobody talking to me, but it had to be no other than Mikasa.

"Fine... " My response was quick and cold. It was unintentional, but it was too late to take it back. It must have stunned her by how rude it was, because there was a long silence until she had another question.

"Has he ever mentioned marriage?"

"Is it important?"

"No, nevermind," She paused. "Yuri's so cute. And he's smart just like his papa. Can I ask one last thing? What instigated him to hate Eren?"

I shrugged.  
"Maybe it was something he said. I know Armin hates being called cute."

"Father like son." She paused a second time, but only for a split second before retaliating, "Armin's sweet. It's just... He's been through a lot and has his weaknesses. I don't trust you, and I still don't. But please, continue to take care of him."

...I know she was hinting at the "incident" that happened when we were still young. Not to be too harsh, but I agree. Armin can't handle situations when it involves self defense.

"He's more sensitive. What happened years ago was more traumatic for him, and we were in the same situation."

"It's because you're used to it. When you came to Germany, you told us you grew up in a slum."

This is true. I've said before I wasn't born and raised in the most privelaged parts of Russia. I wasn't rich. I wasn't middle class, nor was I poor. I was beyond that, I was one thousand steps below poor. The neighborhood I was born to was what my father would call "The Mini Gulag". The name fit it well. It described how terrible it was. Either someone was dying from alcoholism or being frozen to death. There was no power, no heating, little food, and everyone was either drunk or sending death threats. My family was among the few that actually gave a damn about basic morals. I'll admit we weren't the best, but we weren't killing eachother for a bottle of vodka.

Then it's settled. She's right. I already knew she was. The way I grew up made me how I am. I know my childhood is so engrained in me that it created this person that can't be... normal.

"Come on. We should do something better than stand here."

I'm glad she's seeing this isn't exactly my forté. We should keep going.

 ** _(One whatever-antisocial-girls-do montage later!1!-Rawr_ _XD_ _Author.)_**

When the three of us continued wasting time, Yuri, out of nowhere, began meowing.  
Yes, I know what I said, and I am not kidding.

"Myew! Myew! Myeee!"

God help this child...

I wasn't the only one thinking it was weird. Mikasa gave me one of those confused, one-raised-eyebrow looks.

"What's he doing?"

Like I really knew the answer-

"I don't know. I don't remember dropping him."

Right then, more meowing. But it wasn't Yuri's. It sounded too real to be.  
Next to us, there was an actual cat approaching. It was white with beige bloches. There was no collar, or a vest. It had to be a stray. I feel bad for it. What is it doing out here in the cold? Shouldn't it go somewhere warmer? Did it come to us for food or something?

"Yaya! Myew!"

The cat walked past us, and still having an undeveloped brain, Yuri followed it. I tried to stop him to prevent him wandering, but Mikasa stopped me.

"It's okay, he's not going far. Watch."

Mikasa went next to Yuri and caught the attention of the cat. Surprisingly, it was unusually friendly. It kept purring and purring like it was imitating one of those big motorboats.

I decided to join them too, since it's a secret I love animals. Especially kittens.

As soon as I kneeled down, the cat rubbed its face against my leg, and then showed us its white belly. Mikasa assisted Yuri on patting the cat's stomach. The cat let out this monstrous sneeze in the middle, having it end in the both of them laughing. Surprisingly, so was I... I was laughing in the same room as her for the first time.

You know... Maybe it was because we were still kids when we fought, or maybe I'm changing my mind too quickly, but now that we're older, hopefully things can start to change. I don't exactly like Mikasa, but my boyfriend is her best friend. We have to tolerate each other at the least. I'm an adult woman now, and hopefully, something good will happen.

 _Hopefully_.

 ** _Now that the girls are getting along better, let's see what the_ _guys_ _are doing. Mmm... from what it seems like they stormed off to a small lake in the middle of the park's forest. They sat on the rocky shore where the gravel and ducks go._**

The scenery here never fails when it comes to lifting a person's mood. These trees, these birds, they're incredible when they come together.

The phone in my pocket buzzed. Looking at the notification, there was a message.

Annie  
[ _Meet us at the Rosarium in a few minutes.]_

They're already done? Well, it has been awhile, and what Annie said about having rivalry with Mikasa wasn't entirely false. They rarely talk to eachother, but when they do it doesn't end well. Maybe they have had enough of seeing one another... Yet again... We have time. They're adult women, they should be fine.

I put my phone back in my pocket, turning my attention to my best friend.  
"So... are you and Mikasa dating or not?"

"I don't know... we had that one night stand ordeal. Sometimes I want to kiss her until she can't breathe, other days I'll be fighting with her like when we were little. I don't get it though! I've seen her wear as little as underwear and thought nothing more of her than a nagging sister. I don't want her in a romantic way! My body... my actions... they say otherwise."

I could tell he was genuinely conflicted by the question. It's always been obvious how Mikasa feels about Eren, but not so much the other way around. I don't think Eren's ever put much thought into it until now. In an attempt to comfort him, I said lightheartedly, "It sucks being a guy, doesn't it?"

He smiled back at me before turning serious again and looking away. "Not if we're like you. You're smart, you have a beautiful girlfriend, an adorable child, a cozy house, a job that keeps your family alive... You have everything."

Is that really what he thinks? That my life is just a series of happy moments on repeat? We do try to be positive, but that doesn't mean things are easy. We feel like we're always being watched, we're paranoid, we can't help but to have anxiety. Hell, of all things my child couldn't even be born in a hospital because we were barely in the working class at the time. I couldn't diss him on the spot, so as a friend I encouraged him.

"Thank you, Eren... Maybe one day you'll see the same."

I couldn't see his expression since he was still looking away from me.  
"Nah, I'll get too caught up..."

Confused, I asked, "In what?"

Finally, he looked me straight in the eyes and replied, "Jealousy. In the end, Armin will always be better than Eren."

That came from his heart, didn't it? He really thinks I live the dream life. If that were true, I'd still be in Germany with him. I'd be in the same college as him and all of our other friends, and my parents would still be alive to see their grandson.

"That's not true. Armin did things, things he shouldn't have, they were crimes in fact. He had to leave everything he loved with the woman he loved. When he came to his new found life, Armin was regretting everything. He thought of his family being murdered, and how falling in love hurt him. He always thought of the people back home. How their lives were better... Whether they're happy or not."

Eren stood in silence afterwards. Not only that but... he probably remembers everything from years ago. The news stories. The pictures. The tears. _The blood._ I could tell what he was thinking about... That day.

 _Six years ago... When I was younger and dumber, I made a huge mistake..._

 _We were around sixteen years old. Full of hormones, angst and rebellion. Annie and I were already in a relationship for about four months. I included her in almost every activity I did with my friends. She was the light in my everyday, however I don't think_ _she_ _thought of me as highly as_ _I_ _did_ with her. _She was more distant than everyone else, even Mikasa couldn't compare. One day, my sentience got the best of me. I took her on a small date away from the overpopulated city since Annie never liked big crowds. Both of us strolled on the outskirts of a small, empty forest with medium-sized buildings of all sorts on the other side of the street. The setting would have been romantic if it didn't feel like we were being watched._

 _Believe_ _it_ _or not, we were._

 _When I looked_ _behind_ _our backs for less than a second, there were two men that had to be at least three times our age. They kept staring at us... One man was older, wearing a fedora. The other one was thin, disheveled, and dirty._

 _The grimy one whistled with the incompetent smile I can clearly remember, "What. A. Pair. Of. Cuties. Oi, Wald. Check this out."_

 _"They're a nice catch, Lou. They both got a_ _nice_ _ass, especially the short one."_

 _Annie knew our situation._  
 _She whispered in my ear, "Armin... keep walking."_

 _I followed her instructions. I thought they_ _were_ _confused drunks on first glance. Why_ _else_ _would they want us?_

 _The old one shouted as we prolonged our distance from them, "Hey, where do you think you're going?"_

 _We walked faster, but the more we walked, the closer they were._

 _Then one caught me._

 _The skinnier guy wrapped an arm that was wielding a knife around my neck._  
 _He grabbed my crotch with the other hand, probably thinking I was a girl._

 _"Awe, dammit! This one's got a dick! Y'know, I'm not all that into boys, but this one time don't count." He continued to fondle me through my clothes with the cutter resting on my throat. I didn't do anything about it, nor could I shout for help. Neither could Annie. I could tell she was in the same set of mind I was: Speechless. Afraid._

 _The older man creeped behind Annie. He leaned his head over her shoulders, whispering as he groped one of her breasts and tried undoing her pants,_  
 _"The nose on this girl isn't my style. It reminds me too much of you-know-who... everything else though..."_

 _Before he could restrain Annie, she turned around as fast as lightning and kicked his stomach extremely hard. He dropped to his knees with his head smashing on the concrete, and he puked all over himself._

 _Annie snarled, "Disgusting old fuck."_

 _Her growl wasn't the last of it. She stomped on the back of his skull multiple times. I remember the blood pouring from his face onto the pavement._

 _That's how one of them died..._

 _I wanted to cry so badly. But I couldn't._

 _After that incident,_ _I could see the fierce fighter in Annie's eyes._ _She was planning to strike the one that was holding me hostage._ _That hobo knew too. His tone was oddly ecstatic even though someone just died. It was like he was getting a rush of ecstasy out of that horrible moment,_  
 _"Hey now little lady. You wouldn't want your cute boyfriend gettin' hurt! Maybe drop the angry kitten face and gang up on him with me. You're old enough, you'll want his shrimp dick one_ _of_ _these days! Just. Say. Sorry!"_

 _His filthy hand secured the sharp blade to my throat. All he had to do was slide the knife across, and I'd be a goner. The other hand slid down my pants... and played with my manhood..._

 _Despite his threats, Annie still looked like she was ready to fight. I_ _didn't_ _want her to die when I could've passed away, so I managed to scream before he would have slit my throat, "Don't do it Annie! I don't want you getting hurt! It's better me than you! Please! Listen to me!"_

 _She didn't listen,_ _that's_ _all_ _I_ _remember._

 _My mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. But when it finally did, Annie basically broke the trashbag's_ _spine_ _and was tackling him to the ground. Her actions released me from his grip, but I still had a small knife scratch on my neck._

 _While Annie continued crushing his body to a pulp, the knife belonging_ _to_ _the_ _thug_ _lied right in front of m_ _e._

 _Up to_ _this_ _day, I don't know if it was instinct or not, but I got up and mindlessly stabbed the top of his head... six, maybe seven times. I was crying my eyes out in fear, yet not once did I scream. I just kept forcing the blade into_ _his_ _skull, grinding the point against_ _his_ _brain. His nasty hair decreased the amount of blood splattering by a great amount. Only a little bit managed to get on my arm. It was late in the summertime, so I was wearing short sleeves. Meaning there was no blood on our clothes. Thank goodness there wasn't, or else we would've been in jail._

 _I noticed Annie was looking at me in surprise, her eyes wide, mouth opened and everything. She never saw_ _me_ _that intense. Actually, I have never acted like that in my life, even when my parents died. She grabbed my clean arm, telling me in a stern voice, "We need to run. Now!"_

 _And we did. We ran even when our legs burned. When we reached our neighborhood, that's when we calmed down a bit. There was a lake near our homes to wash the blood from my arm, and the knife was thrown into the water._

 _That day we killed people. Nothing could ever change that. Those men might of had families or friends that cared for them, and we took their lives away._  
 _A few days later, their bodies were found and a warrant was put out for the people who caused their deaths... We grew paranoid every passing day as_ _more_ _was_ _being found out. It got to a point where Annie stole a large amount of her father's money, mugged random strangers for their wallets, and had us evacuate immediately for the better._

Years have passed, hopefully everything has been dropped since then. It's been so long without any evidence of us being the persecutors... if anything will ever be found that is.

I think I'm done with reliving that horrible moment. This was the present. I'm living a better life now with my best friend right beside me and a family to look after.

Eren must've seen the trauma come and go in my nerves. Although instead of questioning if I was okay...  
"Do you love Annie?"

What type of question was that? She was my girlfriend as well as the mother of my child.  
"Of course. I'd kill for her. She's the mother of my son, and the person I want to die next to. She's the reason I still exist. But sometimes loving someone can cause more harm than help. Nowadays, it's not as bad as it could potentially be. We overcame our problems, now we're expanding our lives. The fact that we can see you guys again means nothing can stop us."

He sighed, "Again, jealousy. It's obvious why Annie chose you instead of him. Not to be rude of course."

"What does that mean? 'Him?' Who's him?"

Trying to switch from the depressing topic, he teasingly gasped, "Seriously? Everyone knew!"

Then I nudged his arm, and I whined like a child, "What?! Tell me!"

"Bert had a crush on Annie since forever! He still does! Every time we see him he's always asking on how she's doing. When we give him a response, he sweats buckets!"

...What?... I knew Bertoldt was fond of Annie, but having feelings for her after all these years? That should've been out of the question when Yuri was conceived. I mean... I guess it makes sense. He never took his eyes off of her when they were in the same room together.  
Now that I think of it... what Eren is saying is most likely true.

"I didn't know... That poor guy. Did he ever tell her?"

He shook his head. "No, he said he'd tell the day before you guys left, but he never got the courage to do it."

That's... horrible! I wouldn't mind if he confessed his locked up feelings to her! Isn't he miserable? Especially if he still has a liking to her? I wonder... if it's similar for Eren...

There was a pause. Then I turned to Eren,  
"...Tell Mikasa you love her..."

Eren snapped a few seconds later, "I don't though! Do I? All of those comments about us dating... they were all jokes. Besides, I don't want our friendship to become more complicated! Why does this have to be so frustrating?"

"Being unsure is normal. Please, don't make the same mistakes me and Bertoldt did. You're going to deny how you feel, and you'll be too hot-headed to know what you're doing. And hey, if there's anyone out there willing to deal with your temper, they're a keeper. At least give it a try!"  
I gave him a grin, but it had very little affect.

Eventually, he groaned, "Okay... hopefully you're right."

At least he agreed... I hope he keeps his word...  
But it feels like I'm forgetting something...

Shoot! I forgot about Annie's text message. She's probably waiting right now for us! There's still time as long as we make haste.

"Let's go back and see if our girls murdered each other."  
I stood up and held out my hand as an offer to stand.

Eren rubbed the back of his head, accepting my offer. Both of us headed east to the rose gardens, the spot where the women we care most about told us to be.

After walking ( _and a bit of messing around_ ) through the blossoming trees, there was the garden full of colorful flowers. Although it was cold out, spring was only around the corner, so all of the plants were either in bloom or about to be. Annie was playing with our son around the fountain, while Mikasa was petting a rather clean street cat.

Unfortunately, it probably could smell us and ran off. What a shame, I wanted to pet it.

Yuri was the first one to notice us with his bright green eyes. He used his tiny baby legs to run in my direction. He latched onto my pants with one hand, holding out the other one for me to lift him up. Of course, I can't deny his offer. I lifted him up and carried him on my shoulders. Automatically he began to play with my hair.

We neared the girls, and when we got close enough I asked the both of them,  
"What did you ladies do while we were gone?"

Mikasa gave Annie a knowing look before turning to us and saying, "We figured out we have a lot more in common than we think."

Eren and I looked at each other, eyes wide with shock at what seemed like a budding camaraderie between the two girls. We were expecting them to have nearly ripped each other's heads off by now, but apparently we were very wrong. I wasn't sure what to say, afraid I might strike a wrong cord and end this rare moment of harmony. Eren must have thought the same thing because he kept his reply simple, attempting to mask the surprise he obviously felt. "Oooh? Like what?"

Annie smirked a little, which is a big deal for her, and answered boldly, "How empty-headed the males in our lives are."

Apparently this was the perfect answer to bring Eren out of his shock and back to his normal, slightly agressive, self. He countered her insult in a defensive but also slightly playful tone, "What about your son?!"

"He's different. Unlike you men, Yuri is still an innocent child. He never did anything wrong, right?"

Annie looked at Yuri on my shoulders, giving him a tiny smile. He responded with a larger one, giving her a bubbly giggle.

Yuri was so adorable that even Eren in defense mode couldn't help but smile at his reaction and forget about being insulted.  
"Now what do we do? The sun's gonna set in an hour or two."

Oh right! I completely forgot! We are in Russia after all. "I made everyone bring ice skates for a reason! Like I told you, there's ice everywhere in this country. I'm pretty sure there's a rink not far from here!"

Immediately after my proposal, Mikasa gave me a doubtful look and asked, "But Armin... can you even skate?"

Should've seen that one coming.

"Ahah... no... How much could it hurt to try?"

She still looked skeptical at my choice.  
"Whatever you say..."

 ** _Going north was_ _where_ _they_ _found their destination. The rink_ _was_ _a complete ghost town. Nobody, not even one squirrel_ _was_ _there. I mean,_ _it_ _wasn't_ _necessarily_ _bad_ _. In fact, it made the scenery relaxing._ _Everyone put on_ _their_ _skates_ _, ready_ _to_ _go in as quick as possible_.**  
 ** _Now t_ _ake the lead, Mamasetsky!_**

Eren and Mikasa were already covering every inch around the ice. Meanwhile I was watching Armin tying Yuri's mini ice skates. When he was done Armin asked him in a lighthearted way,  
"Ready, birthday boy?"

"Hya!"

Right before Armin could lead Yuri to the rink, I clutched the collar of his sweater. There's no chance I'm letting him bring a one year old with him. Armin barely knows how to ice skate himself. I know he wants to be a good father, and he is, but there's some things he can't do with Yuri.

"I'll take him. After all, you'll fall before you even step foot on the ice."

He nodded. He probably knew that it was a bad idea, but wanted to try anyways. Despite his smarts, Armin could be a real twit sometimes...

I took Yuri's hands and guided him on the ice. Like usual, he laughed and squirmed from this new experience. If anything, he was having more fun from wiggling his torso.

Suddenly, when he stopped shaking, he writhed his arms. He was trying to leave my grip and roam freely. There was no way I was letting him go so he could fall and wail his eyes out.

I tried telling him, "No. You have to hold onto me."  
Lo and behold, it didn't make a difference.

Now he's holding onto his wrist, whining. Come on... is this boy seriously about to cry? Like it even mattered... I let go of his hand. Obviously I still had to monitor him in case he were to tip over.

To my surprise Yuri was trying his hardest, and he was partially skating. Of course, he is only a year old. He fell down on his bottom, got up, went forward, and repeated.

But... he's still so small. No child would learn it this quickly and do it well. Yet again... maybe he's just gifted.

Now he's heading in his father's direction, looking at Eren teaching Armin how to properly skate. It looked like he wasn't getting anywhere since Armin still latched onto the edges of the rink.

Both boys noticed Yuri for a brief second, gave him a weak smile and ignored him. They probably shouldn't have ignored that child, or at least Eren shouldn't have because Yuri became pissed. It couldn't be taken seriously since he is just a baby, but it was sensible what he felt.

Now it was predictable something was about to go sour...

Right when Eren was about to take off...  
"Come on, Armin! It's not hard! Watch how I do iiiIIIIT-"  
Yuri grabbed onto his ankle, causing Eren to plunge flat on his face. Luckily, there was no blood and nobody seemed seriously injured.

Yuri didn't care. He clapped his hands and laughed hysterically.

The only one who didn't find it funny was Mikasa. She shot over to him like the overprotective person she is. "Eren! Are you okay?"

What did she think? Eren was fine. The only damage done was a red patch on his forehead. Still, this caused his rage to rise and go on the verge of yelling. But obviously he didn't, since he knows what would happen if he yelled at my son.  
"What is with that brat?! Armin, do something about your kid!"

"I bet you he didn't mean it! Besides, he's a baby trying to have fun." Armin, being completely oblivious of Eren's anger, glanced over at Yuri, giving him a small wave with that same goofy beam on his face.  
Sometimes I'm proud that I gave birth to a child like Yuri and made him with a daffodil like Armin.

"Was it that funny?" Eren gave us all a glare, acting like he was just embarrassed by his parents. To be honest, this moment could go on television if we recorded it. What's not hilarious about a man in his early twenties being pushed down by a small baby?

I broke the silence between the three of us. Someone had to eventually, even if this moment was perfect.  
"It was pretty comical..."

His head peered down in a playful style of bewilderment.  
"I hate you all..."

At that time, we all chuckled at Eren's frustration. The boys never change. They will always be so hot headed and dimwitted, that it makes us laugh in the end.

 ** _And so that was most of their day at the park. They spent an approximate 4 hours around the park. I did not write as it would take too long to read (As this part already takes 40 minutes) and I'm pretty sure the_ _family_ _would want time to themselves._**

 ** _However, when they were finally back in the safety of their own home, Armin was doing the final touches of the cake. Meanwhile the other four were sitting down tired, trying to pass the time while waiting for Armin to hurry up. I will take the role as narrator for now as everyone is tired._**

Mikasa handed Yuri a blue wrapped box from behind her during the time everyone waited for Armin. It wasn't too large, but it wasn't small either. "We bought him a present back in Germany. Hopefully he likes it."

The baby tried opening it, however he is still too young to do those types of simple tasks. His mother helped him with unwrapping his gift, and inside was a tiger plush with the name 'Yuri' sewed onto its stomach.

Right before Annie could tell them her appreciation, Armin busted in holding the cake that was shaped, decorated, and pink like a cartoon pig. There was a candle shaped like the number 1 neatly placed in the center as well. His grin couldn't be any wider from his pride until he chanted,  
"Happy birthday, Yuri!"

Yuri looked at the pig-shaped cake and Eren back and forth like he was comparing the two.  
A smile formed on the toddler's face. He pointed at Eren and squeaked, "Piggy!"

"EH?!"  
I agree, Eren. EH?!

He did it again, still pointing his finger at his father's best friend.  
"Him... Piggy!"

Yuri just called Eren a pig.

Before anyone else could notice what this meant, Armin scooped up Yuri and shouted exactly what was on everyone's mind.  
"HIS FIRST WORDS!"

Eren wasn't even mad at his friend for choosing his son over him. In the end it was what parents do. The only thing he could do was sigh out, "All I have to say is... This kid's gonna be tough to be friends with."

"Sorry, Eren! But look on the bright side! You made our son have a fun day by kicking you to the curb! Thank you." Holding his son to his chest, Armin wore a huge, goofy grin for his best friend. For this, Eren gave one back.

Everyone was exchanging smiles from then on until they passed out. It was obvious they all came to the same conclusion:  
Even if they don't all get along at times, they care for one another. After all...  
They are all friends, whether they like it or not.

 ** _Now that I am done narrating,_ _I'm adding a little something-something because why not. Sorry to the people who don't ship EreMika ;p It's for the_ _sake_ _of the story, so if you don't like it, don't read it._**  
 ** _Basically, three days later after Yuri's first birthday, Eren and Mikasa toured the center of Moscow. They're on vacation after all! They were standing at one of the open-arched windows of a cathedral, watching the people go by in_ _the_ _late dusk._**

"Hey, Mikasa?"  
Oh God... She's looking at me... I'm trying to remember Armin's advice. Just go for it, right? Yeah, just tell her how I feel... if it's even true.  
"A few days ago, Armin talked to me about us... About that night. I've been doing a lot of thinking and..."

She interrupted me right as I was about to go in detail... "Eren, I'm over it. It was a mistake. We're humans and accidents happen."

"No. I don't think it was an accident..."

If I do not do this now, it will be never. I don't want to do this... what if I feel worse about her?!  
Again, it is now or never. God, she's staring right at me.  
I leaned in hoping for the best.

"Eren, you don't have to..." She tried pushing me away. Her attempt wasn't strong, so I ignored it.

I looked into her eyes and said, "Let me."

I got closer. She accepted it.  
Her lips grazed mine.  
Then they connected.  
Our mouths touched for the first time. How crazy is that? We are in our early twenties and this is our first real kiss. It only took accidental sex and a trip to Russia to make it happen. I basically kissed my foster sister too. Technically she's not related to me, so it's okay then, right? Yeah... it's not like she grew up beside me. My family took her in for a little while.

There's just so many things on my mind right now.

Shit. I'm still sucking on her face.

Our lips detached, making a smacking noise.

I teased, "We never kissed when we screwed, did we?

She blushed long and hard thinking back to that scene.  
"No..."

I smiled at her, then looked off into the scenery. Man... I wonder how my parents will react to this.

We went back to Armin's house after exploring the rest of the Red Square attractions as well as having dinner at a somewhat-fancy restaurant.

Armin was on the floor being trampled on by his son until the baby saw me, and scurried away. I don't know why the kid hates me. Hopefully it'll shed with age. Who knows, maybe one day the tables will turn.

Armin noticed my presence by him leaving. He said once Mikasa was out of sight and out of the same room, "How'd it go? Did you do it?"

I swung into Armin's arms, whispering into his ear as I began to laugh,  
"Thank you so much... you were right Armin. You're always right."

 ** _/AN/_**  
 ** _What? Did you REALLY think this would be happy all the way throughout? PFFFFT- If you don't know already,_ _I_ _LOVE writing horrible topics. I do it all the time in LA. ;) Well, this part has around 9000 words in it, excluding my notes. So that's 3000 words more than on average._**

 ** _aLSO shout out to my sister who helped me by a great deal with dis part. She doesn't have a wattpad but still show some respect because this part would have never happened_ _without_ _her! :P_**

 ** _The next part will be... aahhh... not telling._**  
 ** _Gud-BAI! Stay tuned my children~/_**


	4. It's (-) To See You Again

_March 22nd, 2003_

It was early morning, maybe 7a.m.? My girlfriend, Annie fell asleep in my bed late at night, and she stayed in the same position throughout that time like she was dead. I can't blame her, she probably slept for five hours at maximum, and with our son usually waking us up at this hour, today is going to wipe her out.

Then the door creaked, speaking of the devil.

"Heloh?"  
Our two year old, Yuri found his way to our room with his stuffed tiger and blanket he always slept with. His toddler self stumbled to my bed, trying to climb it.

"Mama... sleep?" He asked.

I nodded, leaving Annie's warmth to lift Yuri between me and his mother. He wanted her to be awake. I could see it in his face.

Yuri put his toy tiger on his mom's head, thinking it would get her to wake up. As long as he wasn't shaking or hitting her, ( _Which thank the gods he never does_ ) I guess it was fine.

He whispered, "Mama, up!"

I tried to persuade Yuri not to annoy her nicely by patting his head. It wouldn't be fair to Annie if she had to get up so soon, especially since today is supposed to be special to her.

"Let's let your mother sleep, okay? She had a rough night."

Like Yuri cared. He whined, "Want Mama up." while rubbing his hand against her cheek.

"She'll be awake soon. But you need to be patient."

I don't know how to make him stop. I would never hit a child, nor would I yell at one. What Yuri is doing isn't harming anyone, right? It should be fine for now, it's not like Annie's waking up.

Nevermind! She's awake... oh god... Her face is groggy and irritated. It's just like her pregnancy! If she thought I was the one who woke her up, she'd give me her coldest look possible, then body slam me until unconscious. Yuri though... he was lucky. He could scream and jump on the bed, and Annie would just yell at him to calm down.

When that child saw his mother open her eyes, he immediately jumped into her arms.  
"Mama!

If there's one thing that's a definite, it's that Yuri is a mama's boy. And Annie knew that too. Naturally being his mother, she felt the same way. "Good...morning..."

"Heheh! Mama beh-deh!"

"What?..."

Yuri clapped his hands in pure joy, while Annie looked at him confused.  
Since he's only two, Yuri can't pronounce a lot of words correctly. Don't get me wrong, since his first words his vocabulary's been blooming. But he was trying to say today Annie is officially twenty-four years old.

"He's saying Happy Birthday. Which reminds me." I kissed her on the sweet lips I always have loved, "Happy birthday, Annie."

She looked too tired to care about her blessings. All she could do was stroke Yuri's fluffy blond hair. I felt guilty for not letting her get more sleep, but she couldn't sleep the day away. I guess that's one good thing about having kids! They're alarm clocks without an off button.

I said quietly, trying not to disturb her more, "It's your birthday this time. I have two surprises for you."

"What's with you and surprises?"

"I'll tell you one right now. I got us a reservation to a place you've been wanting to go to for the longest time. Just you and me."

I thought she'd be happy at that hint. I couldn't have been more wrong. She looked at me with her eyes widened with slight concern written on her.  
"Who's watching Yuri?"

"I promised myself I wouldn't say anymore!"

If I told her then it would ruin the surprise! She hates surprises, but this certain present had to be one.

I expected her to roll over from the news along with her morning groans, and she did with Yuri copying her.  
"Know that I'm not going anywhere until you tell me."

I ignored her remark. It was still morning, a.k.a. the worst time to talk to Annie. Once she rests a bit or refreshes herself she should be back to her regular self. After all, today's supposed to be a wondrous day. I hope it will at least. _He_ said I didn't have to worry about transportation. Any moment now, I'll either be a tissue or a punching bag... Or both.

My phone buzzed before I could put a regular shirt on. It was a message. Not from Eren or my other good friends... Let's go with... Annie's present.

It read:  
[ _I landed. I will be there in one hour._ ]

 ** _4_ _5 minutes later, Mama's perspective bishes ;)..._**

I don't get why Armin surprises me. I never liked them, even finding out about Yuri disheartened me for the first trimester. Crap! Yuri... did he eat yet? Probably not... I'm not the greatest chef, but I can make edible food. Yuri isn't too picky either so that's a plus. I'd prefer if Armin did it, but he deserves a break. After all he does for us, it's the least I can do.

Yuri remained in my room, playing with his favorite toy and blanket. He seemed to be having fun by himself so what's the point of bothering him? There was nothing dangerous from what I can remember. He should be fine.

Leaving Yuri to go down the stairway, someone knocked on the door hard, and stern. Who would want us right now? We rarely ever talk to our neighbors. It might be Armin's surprise guest, but why would they show up this early in the day?

I could see Armin rushing to the door with his hair styled in a messy ponytail. Opening it, he greeted someone who I couldn't recognize since the stairs blocked the person's face. They seemed older than both Armin and I by a great quantity, maybe in their early fifties?

The person stepped into our home, and Armin, being his usual self, said to the person in a cheery tone, "Annie is upstairs with our son. She'll see you when she's more prepared."

"The baby... How old is he again?" That voice sounds familiar... Could it be who I think it is?

"Only two. He's super loveable, you'll adore him if Annie lets you touch him."

"Who are you talking to?" While continuing to go downstairs, I saw the person's face and knew who it was too well. "Dad?

...How?... I...

 ** _Uh,_ _Annie?_ _It's_ _your perspective! Narrate!_**

 ** _-I can't! How dare he bring my father in my house without my permission?! I'm fucking_ _furious right now so why don't YOU take over?!_**

 ** _Fine, Jesus I'll do it!_**  
 ** _Que Third Person!_**

Annie stood in shock, hatred, sadness and regret, mainly the hatred and shock part. Could you blame her? She hadn't seen her old man in seven years, and their last encounter was when Annie ran away from home, which obviously did not go so smoothly. Looking at him only made her remember those times, and the horrible memories of living in a rundown house in the center of a ghetto neighborhood, something she was so happy to forget about when she left her father's care. Even in Germany, being with him made her remember the darker days.

 _Seventeen years ago..._

 _Coming inside from her barricaded backyard, a tiny blonde child followed her father to the inside of their home. The older man seemed troubled, taking a cigarette to the front of the house with him._

 _For the small girl, tears dwelled in her eyes. She scurried to her mother once her father was out of sight._

 _Her mother filled the air with cigarette smoke of her own, flicking the ashes into a nearby ashtray. Annie said to get her attention, "Momma? Why does Dad hate me?"_

 _The older woman knew her daughter was being trained hand-on-hand combat by her father. Most of the time she didn't agree with it, since in her eyes, teaching someone who should be in elementary school how to fight would be mentally unhealthy. Yet she tried to see the good in it, her daughter could be independent and defend for herself unlike her ancestors._

 _Her mother put out the cigarette to deal with the child. Clearing away the smoke, the mother lifted Annie onto her lap. She rocked her gently, calmly whispering, "He doesn't hate you... I know his methods are rough, and I do my best to protect you when things get crazy... But he wants you to become a strong woman when you're older. You know what the girls here are like. What they become."_

 _Annie nodded at her mother's words. At such a young age, she knew her neighborhood swarmed with prostitutes, strippers, bimbos and junkies. The saddest part was she knew what all of those terms meant. Living the way she did, it became apart of everyday language alongside cussing._

 _The little girl looked at her mom, analyzing her features. The woman's nose was like hers, a roman shape that they were often made fun of for. Her mom's eyes also being the same crystal blue as her, and hair being a different long golden brown. Her mom was petite, and had a soft, maternal expression, making her even more alluring. The woman was without a doubt a gem._

 _Knowing how a selfless lady like her mother had to live poorly disheartened the young child, making tears fill the rims of her eyes once again. She didn't understand why her family lived like this. Why was she even born to this life? Didn't her existence burden them? Why did her father always act like that was the case?_

 _Being young and outspoken, she questioned, "But why is Dad so mean about it? He's like that to you too sometimes."_

 _"It's out of love. One day, far away from this place, you will have a husband and children to feel the same about. He's the man of the house and it's his job to protect us. You know that. I'd never leave your side, alright?"_

 _The little girl embraced her mother for saying those words. It made her tensed nerves feel like nothing ever happened in the first place. Moments like that with her mom made her feel at peace, and all of the questions beginning with "Why?" disappeared._

 _Suddenly, after the long and peaceful silence, a loud gunshot was heard. It was close._ _Closer than usual._

 _The little girl clutched onto her mother's shirt, now having to question if someone died._

 _Her father stormed into the house seconds after with a bleeding hole in his pants. He shut the door as quick as possible, and fell to his knees._

 _Annie's mother, being terrified, set the little girl down to_ _run_ _over to her husband._

 _She shouted in fear, "Nik! Nik, don't strain yourself!"_

 _It was obvious her father had been shot in the thigh. It was not the first time that it happened. Her parents... no, everyone living in that hellpit received bullets in their bodies every other day. Just stepping outside for fresh air became a way to get a gun pointed to the head. Her father should've learned that by now._

 _For a seven year old, Annie knew every danger in her town. Watching her father's blood staining the floor didn't scare her. It was only a part of what happened to people in the slums..._

 _...And she hated it. Her mother did too, and she promised Annie one day she would find a way to make sure the little girl didn't live miserably forever. Even if it had to kill her._

Now in the present, Annie's life had begun to be more cheerful by shedding her past away. Leaving all of the scars behind made her feel normal for once. How was it supposed to continue if he was here?

Her father stood there as Annie relived her childhood. He sensed that is what she was thinking of, and how it would have eventually come, so he did his best to be serene towards his daughter.

"It's been awhile."

Hearing those three words triggered Annie to come out of her daydreaming, but slowly made her vexation grow. She tried to keep her voice at a moderate level, considering her toddler was upstairs.

She growled at her father, "Why are you here?"

"To see my daughter... and hopefully I get to see my grandson."

"Oh? The grandson you wanted me to get rid of?"

The man sighed from his daughter's remarks, "You're young to be having babies, Annie! And you aren't married, you do not have a solid job-"

Before he could finish his point, Annie cut him off.

"That doesn't matter! We survive, don't we? Why did you bother to come here? You're not welcomed and you know it!"

Instead of thinking twice, Annie stormed up to her father, growing intense hatred within her. Before she could swing a kick at him, Armin interfered by holding her back with the little strength he had.

"Calm down!"

Saying that was a big mistake.  
Armin had his girlfriend's sharp blue eyes death stare him. A wave of fear ran down his spine, knowing she could snap and break one of his bones any second.

Luckily all he got from her was, "Why did you do this? You know I never wanted to see him again."

Trying to think of an answer, Armin splurted out, "He was going to watch Yuri while we went out on our date! Please, if you give him a chance I swear this can be so much fun for everyone. I'm begging you, don't do this. He's your one and only dad, and Yuri should at least meet the one grandparent in his life."

"You don't understand..."

"He hurt you. But we did horrible things to him too. He told me he wanted to see you, and to see Yuri. Times have changed, and so have the people. Please, give it a chance. Things will be so much better if you do. Don't you trust me?"

Armin grabbed Annie's wrists, looking at her with sincerity. Usually that honest face would calm the woman down, but this time she broke free from his grip and hissed, "After this, I'm not sure if I can."

The blond didn't say a word back, and Annie ran upstairs.

 _How did this happen? How could I be so stupid?_ Those words were all Annie could think about, repeating them in her head like she was chanting a curse.

Storming into her room, she became red and plopped onto her bedsheets. In her head she said to herself,

 _What's wrong with me? I never break down like this. I can't cry now..._ _I_ _won't..._

One thing she forgot about in her dismay was that Yuri still remained in her room.

The boy looked at his frustrated mother confused. Annie usually coddled him whenever they were in the same room, even if she seemed down. Now, his tiny brain couldn't pick up why this would be different. He didn't understand why she seemed upset at all, and being pure-minded, he could only think pure thoughts.

"Mama okeh?... Hug?"

She turned around, seeing the small blond child tangled in his blanket. She got up from her bed and sat next to her child. The baby held his arms out for her, waiting for a hug. How could Annie say no? Yuri didn't know what was happening, it wasn't his fault. She embraced her little boy, feeling his heartbeat, and her nose picking up the scent of his shampoo.

 _What did I do to deserve a child like this?_

Their loving moment was interrupted by Armin shouting from the base of the stairway, "Annie! Please come down. This is for the better!"

Stroking the boy's cheek, Annie told him, "Mama will be right back."

The toddler was put back where he played by himself. He watched his mother leave the room, and he heard arguing when she was gone. Yuri was good with minding his own business most of the time. _Most of the time._ This time was different. He overheard what sounded like Armin pleading, and decided to listen.

"Before you say anything, please know your father loves you, Annie. He did all of the things he did to protect the last important person in his life. Think of it for a moment. All of those stories you told me, you never gave a thought to what was on his mind. It's time you see him again and reconnect."

Being a curious mind, Yuri wandered towards his father's voice. He carefully went down the stairs by holding onto the railing, and even then almost tripped a few times. Worrying about that disappeared when his eyes saw his mom and dad and another face he did not recognize.

"Mama? Mama, who that?"

He expected his mother to answer, but instead Armin responded with, "That's... Mama's dad, your grandpa."

He looked confused at Armin's answer. He never had grandparents to be apart of his life, so to him this was a new word.

"Grand...pa?"

Yuri stared at his grandpa, and Annie's father looked back at the boy, noticing what a perfect creature his daughter created.

"He's beautiful, a spitting image of Annie... Her mother would've been so proud..." The older man picked up his grandson, resting him on his hip. Yuri gave the man a great big smile followed by a chuckle. If there could be any example of love at first site, this would be it. "Annie, I promise I'll take good care of him. Go out and have fun. Lord knows what has happened in my absence."

Annie knew that nothing would change how the events would play out, and tried to think of it now as a way to see if her father truly changed. If this were to go downhill, she could rub it in Armin's face, if not, then she would have no choice but to reconsider her actions. She sighed, turning her head in Armin's direction. "When are we leaving?"

He smiled at her words. His plan was falling into place.  
"Whenever you're ready."

 ** _After that, seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. During the day's slow progression, the family prepared for the events scheduled on their agendas. It was slightly awkward, since Annie's father waited quietly for the three to be ready. The entire house was quiet in general, the only time there'd be noise was when people were walking or when Yuri needed attention._**

 ** _By around three o'clock, everyone was ready to part ways. Annie forced herself to hand Yuri over to his grandfather. She didn't know if this man truly changed, he came back into her life not for more than a day. Armin reassured her into leaving them alone, and he succeeded. They left not long after. It was just Yuri and his grandpa alone in a house together._**

They hadn't done much since the boy's parents had left, at least, the older gentleman had not done anything in particular. Yuri occupied himself by playing with his toys, but his grandpa wanted to interact with the boy. After all, it's his first grandchild, and who knows when he could see the boy again after he went back home. At the moment, he couldn't think of anything himself to do. Asking Yuri would seem a bit strange, but it would be an advantage to do so. How much could a little boy ask for?

Kneeling down to the Yuri's level, the man said, "Do you want to go anywhere little one?"

The boy took his attention away from playing and squeaked, "Yah!"

"Alrighty, where to?"

 _*little cutie does a think*_

"Can we get candy? Mama don't let me!"

There was something about the way he responded, and how those baby teeth formed a smile that seemed so... comical in a sense. It was pure, oblivious, yet so full of life. The old man couldn't help but to smile and laugh alongside the child.

"Heheh! You're an energetic one. We can go to a store only this one time, alright? Don't tell your mother though, she'll be very angry with us."

"Okeh! I no tell!"

 ** _Aaah... *Sniffle* good times. Now, we're going to travel in time a bit._ _Don't_ _worry,_ _it's_ _not years into the future,_ _it's_ _only by a few hours._**

 ** _Now_ _the_ _setting is in the night, Armin's point of view. Him_ _and_ _his mistress had_ _their_ _exquisite dinner at one of the newer, fancier restaurants in the central Moscow area. The portions of the meals were on par of something out of the United States, that being said, it left them wanting to rest when they left the establishment. Walking around the city would create_ _side_ _stitches, so the best option would be to sit and_ _digest_ _near the river that_ _intersected_ _the city._ _Armin_ _,_ _being_ _his observant self_ _noticed_ _how the sky above was more noticeable when they stopped. He tried to tell Annie,_ _even_ _though she_ _kept_ _dozing off. She told Armin how_ _she_ _wanted to go home to her son as soon as possible, but Armin_ _wasn't_ _having it._**

I've been trying to convince Annie to let us stargaze a bit before going home. For some reason it was like the world knew today would be special and made the sky burst with dark colors ranging from blue to violet. If we get extremely lucky, we might be able to see a shooting star! This was a perfect setting, and that's what I'm trying to tell her right now! She's giving me excuses like, "We should really get back soon, you look tired," or "We have our son at home."

My rebuttal to all of it in the end was, "Just because we're parents doesn't mean we have to act old! You're only twenty-four! Besides, your dad is watching him!"

We didn't have to rush anything. Who knows when the next time we can spend time together like this will be. I know for a fact it won't be as soon as we would like, and I think Annie came to that realization too.

She rolled her eyes and grunted from our playful argument,  
"Fine, but only for a few minutes." There was what I predict to be a smirk on her face, but I'm not sure. That doesn't matter, she agreed!

Looking up, the stars in the sky glistened like unique crystals, each one with its own brightness and size. I'm glad to be spending it with Annie, if anything I want to spend it with her only. Ever since we became parents we've never really had time to go to parties or go on dates. I mean, one of my best friends got intoxicated and made love to his roommate! We're still very young in our lives, and we should be spending it in moments like these. Don't get me wrong, I love Yuri. The little guy never fails to cheer me up when all hope seems lost. I remember when Annie told me she was carrying him, and how happy I was. It passed by so quickly, I remember it so vividly...

 _Almost three years ago_ , _Annie was screaming upstairs on her phone for maybe an hour or two. It was with her dad, that I knew from the start. She would never be that loud at someone else._

 _I had been wondering why Annie was depressed that day and the week before that. She would never answer me when I talked to her nor would she want any affection. I became a bit paranoid that she didn't love me as much as before, nowadays I wish I would have known better._

 _When the shouting eventually died down I saw that as my chance to ask her what was wrong. She definitely wouldn't want company then, but I had to try._

 _I knocked on our bedroom door. She didn't give me an answer. I still went in. After all, we share a room._

 _"Annie? Are you okay?"_

 _She sat on her bed, red in frustration, ready to cry. I hated seeing her like that, so I sat next to her and tried to reassure her._

 _"Who was on the phone?" She hid her face in her hands from my question. I begged to her, even though I already had an idea, "Talk to me..."_

 _Annie looked up at me with her scleras red and irises as ice blue as ever. That was the first time she gave any kind of response to me in a week._  
 _Luck was on my side that day, because she even gave me a verbal response!_

 _She told me, "My dad..."_

 _"What happened? A month ago we were laughing and smiling. Now it's like we're growing apart."_

 _She sniffled a few times before answering me, "We are. Or at least we will."_

 _"How? I'd never want to leave your side."_

 _She asked me,"What did we do that month ago?" But I couldn't figure out what she was hinting at. We did our usual routines, and had our adult fun every now and then. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed wrong. What was there to think about?_

 _When I shrugged, she became more red, yelling words that would have never crossed my mind._

 _"For fucks sake, Armin! I'm pregnant!"_

 _It was like her words struck an arrow at me. At first I didn't believe her, but then I couldn't think of a reason why she'd lie about it. She was pregnant! That meant there was a baby growing inside her. A little ball of cells that could soon turn into a human being was resting in her womb as we breathed. From the way Annie was acting, she didn't feel the same way I did. I was ecstatic about having a child! I never really interacted with babies or small children, but being a father seemed so... rewarding. Passing down my knowledge to a young mind, what could be better?_

 _"Don't take it so roughly, this is great news."_

 _I tried to calm Annie down by cuddling her. She didn't return they favor back as I'm assuming to her it wasn't good in the slightest. Instead, she barked at me._

 _"We can't afford a baby or an abortion! We're stuck and we can't do anything!"_

 _"We can make it work... Do you want to keep it?"_

 _I tried being calm. I wanted to make her feel better, I really did. Thankfully when she replied it seemed less tense than before._

 _"I don't know. My dad sure doesn't. Either way I'd be a terrible mother, he said it himself. I am a murderer meant to be in prison after all. How is a baby supposed to grow up knowing its mother is a killer?"_

 _I couldn't stand hearing that. When she degrades herself there's a fire that sparks inside me. It seems a bit hypocritical, since I feel the same way sometimes about being a murderer, yet I don't think that was it. I think it was how she let her guard down that quickly. Her inability to take action for herself and to make her own life choices were always at a low. Yeah... that's what sparked it._

 _"First of all, don't talk like that about yourself! You're not a murderer, what happened back then was out of self defense! Second, it's your body, so it's your call! If you don't think you're ready then don't have it! At least we know we can in the future! And whatever you choose to do, I'm okay with it."_

 _"Do you want children?"_

 _"I want to be a father, it'd be fun to have a mini me one day. But now is not the time if you're not ready. I swear nothing will come between us whether there's a baby or not."_

 _She sighed and said, "Okay... Thanks."_

 _"Anytime! Do you want me to leave you alone?"_

 _She nodded. I had to obey her wishes, especially when she was in that state._

 _But I remember being so excited about the possibility of having a child. Sure we were (and still are) very young and not the richest, but we would make it work with whatever path we chose, and we did._

 _Annie made the decision to keep the baby a few days later, and when she announced we were having it I might as well have been the happiest man on Earth. I couldn't wait to be a father. Sure, I'm not strong at all, I'm in my twenties and I can barely do a push up, but I made a promise to myself: It was that I'd be there for my child. From going to every doctors appointment with the little money we had, to watching our child's birth, I would be there, and I was. I've watched my boy take his first breath, steps, words, now I'm waiting for his first day of school, his first girlfriend (Maybe boyfriend, who knows) and one day his wedding. It will all happen without a doubt, and I'll be there._

 _ **(Outta the flashbacks you emos)**_

From the bottom of my heart, words cannot describe how blessed I feel to know that this is my family. Without them, chances are I would have killed myself already. I never tell them that, since one would worry about me being suicidal and the other one just started potty training, but my actions make up for that. Maybe tonight I should break that habit, because like I said previously, we don't get these opportunities very often. I should at least let her know my appreciation.

"Annie... Thank you for being with me... I was a loser. Anyone outside of the group would bully me for being weak, ugly, a crybaby... But you, one of the prettiest girls still chose me. There were so many other options... Eren, Jean, Bertoldt... and I became the lucky one."

"Where'd that come from? Yeah, you're, sensitive, a weakling, and you may not be a model, but why does that matter? You have good qualities too you know. You're a great father and boyfriend. You got guts to pull through all of the bullshit you've seen with us in the background."

I gave her a small grin since she's not the type to give compliments. I'm glad she tried for me though, and she didn't do too poorly either. Annie seems cold hearted, antisocial, bitter, and unemotional at times, but she sees the good in the people she chooses to trust.  
Does she know how unique she is? Probably not.

God... she's so beautiful...

 ** _After they decided to have a session of snuggling in the wind, it was time they headed home. It was already nine, and they wanted to at least tell their son goodnight. Good thing their home was not very far away from the city's center._**

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was Yuri and my dad sitting at the dining table eating sweets and playing one of Yuri's games together. My father never did that with me, not even in my youngest memories. I was slightly jealous, but also... relieved in a sense to see Yuri smiling in a way I could never around my dad.

I don't think Armin recognized it as much of a precious moment as I did. He gave zero second thought to it and said straight away, "We're home!"

"Mama! Poppa!"

Yuri hopped from the chair he stood on to run towards us. He clutched onto Armin's leg and was lifted up by him.

Giving Yuri a kiss on the cheek, Armin asked him, "Did you have fun with grandpa?"

"Yes Poppa!"

Both of us chuckled from his cuteness. There was no fibbing in his squeaks. My father walked up to us with a remorseful expression. Moreover, he looked me straight in the eyes.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me see him. I love him already, and your mother would have too if she was with us. I'm also glad to have seen you too, Annie. I'm so sorry about the past. Your boyfriend told me everything about you, and what a gorgeous young woman you've grown into. I realized when you left how much you mean to me, and I hope it's not too late to be your parent again."

It's obvious that he wasn't lying. Yuri's giggling, and my father is smiling, something that he never did in the past. They really had fun together, didn't they? If Yuri's happy, then I have no choice but to be the same.

Now that I think... my father hasn't always been horrible. He was a little nicer when my mom was alive, and when I ran away he begged me not to go. He wanted me to come back...

 _"I cannot stop you, but know that the world is your enemy. Even if everyone hates you, I'm always on your side... I ask one thing of you... come home soon."_

 _"I'm sorry. It's too late for that._ "

Armin caught my attention from my muse by holding Yuri away from him. He insisted, because Yuri whined for me. Armin hates seeing his son upset to a very high degree and wound up giving him to me.

In my arms, looking at Yuri's big green eyes reminded me of how I could never smile like that. The risk of him losing his sweetness would never happen, but I had to do my best to make sure, especially around my father.

"I have one request. Don't treat him like you did to me. Ever. If he's going to learn self defense, it will be taught by me, and only me."

Dad nodded at my words.

"Agreed. My old bones couldn't keep up with him anyways. I just want a family again," He pulled Yuri and I into a large hug. Between us there was a bubbly giggle. It was Yuri being cute, who else?  
There was only one person missing. Armin.  
He's done so much for us. He is the provider of most of the money used in our house, he's my partner in crime and the father of my child. He deserves to be apart of this as much as Yuri and I do.

I held out an arm for him, and laughed out,  
"You're family too."

 ** _/AN_**  
 ** _I am super sorry about the shortness with Yurio and his gramps. This chapter became waaaaay longer than I had hoped for. It was going to be 4,000 words maximum but ya know f*_ _ck_ _that._**

 ** _If_ _anyone has any suggestions for_ _what_ _should happen in_ _chapter_ _3 please feel free to give me suggestions, as well as tell me the_ _mistakes_ _in this chapter if there are any_**

 ** _I really don't have much to say other than that, thanks 4 keeping up! Ciao~_**


	5. Heartbroken

_May 10th, 2004_

"H-Hey! Get back here!"

You're probably wondering why I just yelled that out. Well, let's just say it was my turn to bathe Yuri, and he made it very difficult for me.

By difficult I mean he jumped out of the bathtub when I wasn't looking and is now running around the house naked.

"Poppa can't catch me!"

Agh! He's getting the floors wet! Annie's gonna blame me for it now! Welp, this is one way to spend a long Monday. Come home from work and have a 3-year-old run his tiny behind everywhere.

"Yuri, please stop! Mom's gonna be mad at us!"

He didn't care. He made a turn...

Then stopped?

Oh-

Annie's here!? I thought she was in the basement or something! Guess not...

When Annie looked down at Yuri, noticing that he was indeed nude, she didn't seem to care a whole lot. That is, until she saw the trails of liquid across the room. When she did see it, Annie's eyes sparked with the fire that usually showed her anger. I feel like since Yuri's present in the same room it's not as bad as it could potentially be.

That being said, she angrily asked, " Why are the floors soaked?"

"I can explain! I was giving him a bath like you told me to and he escaped when I wasn't looking! I would never let him do this if I was aware, I promise!"

I tried giving her my best explanation possible, I really did! I hoped my reasoning worked. It probably did something, because she picked up Yuri and carried him to the bathroom with her.

She mumbled in an annoyed tone on her way, "Clean up the water."

I had no choice, did I? It is my fault after all... I'll get the mop...

 _ **Yuri has no chill. Right, Annie?**_

 _ **Ha, I'm kidding. Back to the story, Annie's P.O.V.-**_

This boy is without a doubt a trouble maker. Armin should have known by now that Yuri needs to be watched like prey. After all he's a toddler, he couldn't stay still for two minutes even if he tried. Yet, at the same time, I know it's not entirely Armin's fault. I should be disciplining Yuri better so he doesn't act out like that. After all, I spend the most time with Yuri, since it's not like I have a job or career. I mean, I used to practice kickboxing as work, and I got a lot further than most of the other women did. Of course, when I became pregnant I had to put everything on hold. Retiring from it wouldn't be the correct way to put it... I'm just taking a long break. I have a child to raise, and I want to enjoy him in his youth before I go back. But don't be mistaken, just because I don't exactly work doesn't mean I'm just a housewife that cooks and cleans for my man. I could never understand that lifestyle, and I refuse to ever live it. Ever. Armin knows damn well he can cook for himself and clean up his messes just like I do for myself. The only thing I'm jealous about is that he works and I don't. But I'll go back to that soon... I better.

Pardon my internal rants, during this time I've been finishing to clean Yuri. It's supposed to be Armin's turn to do this, but since he couldn't complete it properly I'm stuck doing his chores. It's fine, I guess. Yuri's almost finished. Besides, if I have to hear, "Am I done?" one more time I'm giving this child up for adoption.

Not really, I love him too much to do that. Even if he is annoying.

It's time for another point of view switch, I am sorry :')-

 _ **Today was a rough day at Armin's job. His bosses overworked him this time and his co-workers messed around with him more than usual. On top of that, he was given work to take home, something that rarely ever happens. To him, a long night's rest would be more important than this right now.**_

 _ **I think I'm done explaining the situation, so let's back into the ~~groove~~**_

I hate working. Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but I hate having work to take home. I'm almost done anyhow. It wasn't a lot, it's just stressful... and I didn't want to do it... I think I'll finish tomorrow morning. Procrastination isn't my style, but I'm so done with today. I know why people say they hate Mondays.

While I was putting away all the papers related to my job, my phone started vibrating like crazy. I was probably getting a call, and when I looked at my phone I was right. The caller was none other than Eren. I get phone calls from him a lot more often ever since he visited two years ago.

I answered the call as fast as I could and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

[Hey...]

I was surprised, Eren sounded more drained than I felt. I know, he probably has a job too, and he has a home and girlfriend to care for. I'm just curious to why he sounds like this, when most of the time, Eren is a lively person, especially when he calls me. As a friend, I had to ask...

"Why so glum? Wasn't it your two-year anniversary the other day?"

[Yeah, that went fine, but... I have something to tell you, something you should get Annie for. This call is going to be important.]

I don't know why he would want Annie. If it's urgent though, I guess it's understandable. She should be done with Yuri by now. I did hear the water drain through the piping not too long ago.

"Annie! Please come here for a moment!" I yelled.

A short figure walked down the steps, and then towards me a few seconds later. It was Annie, obviously. She seemed wiped out as well, and apparently she was already getting Yuri set for bed. He was fast asleep on her hip in his pajamas with his blanket hanging off of his shoulders. Judging from the looks of it, it seems as if it was a long day for everyone.

Annie violently-but-tiredly groaned at me, "Don't wake up Yuri."

"Ah, sorry. Eren's on the other line. He wants to talk to the both of us."

Eren's tone brightened by only a smidgen. He likes Yuri a lot, so mentioning him boosted his mood. That, and because he greeted Annie too, [Hello! How is the little rascal?]

However, unlike Eren, Annie doesn't get excited about people. It doesn't matter if it's a friend, she just doesn't.

"A handful. Nothing out of the ordinary for a three year old. He's sleeping, so don't be too loud."

[Mmm... Well when he wakes up tell him I said hi!]

"Can do... Why are you calling us?"

Her asking that snapped Eren back to the depressing and lethargic tone he was originally using. It's really starting to worry me... Did someone get hurt back home? Did someone get caught doing something? It can't possibly be related to us, can it? We've been fine for almost a decade now, I doubt anyone in Germany would even care about our existence anymore.

Then Eren brought me back to reality by speaking up, [Hnnn... this was coming eventually... There's information you may want to know... It's about your parents, Armin, and your mother, Annie.]

...Eh?

Did I hear that correctly, or was my best friend since early childhood playing some late April Fools joke on me? No, that can't be. I have to think rationally about this! If it was a joke, why would it be on such a sensitive subject between Annie and I? He knows we love our parents, even in death. Yeah...he wouldn't make fun of that. Eren can be rough and empty-headed, but he's not vile.

"I-If you're serious... than what possibly could have happened?"

On the other line, the sounds of computers typing and papers crinkling came and went. I'm assuming he was at a desk and was trying to gather information. Once the different sounds ended, Eren started talking, [There were these two men, one the chairman of a tech company, and the other a street rat manipulated into being a sidekick. By the description, you should recognize it's the fucktards that tried to molest you two... They both were found dead on Auf der Insel Road, on September 2nd, 1995. This is old news you probably don't wanna hear. Well, the part that isn't old news is that finally, after eight years, someone with relations to one of the guys involved, I think the wife, gave authorities permission to search her husband's stuff again after she figured out some key actually belonged to a storage unit of his all the way in Rostock, and they found more than enough in that unit to prove this rich dude was the main murderer. There were journals, unsent letters, and disturbing pictures that involved 93 people from across the world. All of them were dead on record.]

What the hell? What is he getting at?! I mean, I'm really shocked that those same people we thought to be some horny drunks were actual mass criminals! But... why would this be relevant to us? How did he even get this information? If Yuri weren't here, I would've been hounding Eren with questions.

"How do you know this?"

[The news was released to the public... like three weeks ago? I heard about it and everyone at my university was talking about it too. My biology professor even showed the class the story that aired on TV and gave us this huge lecture. A few weeks later, which is today, luck was on my side when I was visiting my parents earlier. Their home phone started ringing and I picked up. It was some sort of police department that wanted either of my parents, so I pretended to be my dad and wrote down everything they said to me. This may come as a shock to you, but it turns out those same cunts were responsible for the death of your parents. It was fucking disgusting what I was told, I'll tell you that.]

Because Germany is a lot different than Russia in both location, culture and language, this news wasn't as popular over here, at least from what I could tell. I haven't seen it in a single paper or heard people talking about it. Maybe it was blocked in this country since it sounds horrifyingly gruesome.

Anyways, it makes sense that Eren's parents were called about it being that they were generous enough to legally take me in after my grandpa died, even though they already had Mikasa as a foster child.

But the more all of this started making sense, the more I can't help but become distressed! What was he going to tell us?!

"You're not kidding, are you? What did you find?! What happened?!"

There was another long, dramatic silence. Was I too rough? My hands did slam against the table. I hope I didn't wake Yuri up, the last thing I need is Annie being mad at me. More importantly on my end, the chances are my actions made it harder for Eren to speak. Did he think I was too weak to handle this?

In all likelihood I was, but then suddenly he spewed out the answer I was looking for.

[God I hate this... According to the details given to us... nnng... Your mom was supposedly strangled to death, and your father suffered major abdominal trauma. When they were brought to the hospital, no real diagnosis was made on how they died from how little blood was lost, and how no trails of injury were left behind... I'm so sorry... they were amazing people. Remember this Armin, they loved you so much. For them you were worth everything in the world, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It's the same way you feel about that little boy! I'm sorry... I truly am.]

Were my ears deceiving me? No, I was hearing correctly. Or was I? Maybe Eren's making this up... or got his facts wrong! But my parents have been dead for 15 years already... What were the chances he isn't lying? They're pretty high, right? No... That can't be true, this isn't true! None of it was true...

I can still remember...

 _I just came home from hanging out with a few of my friends on a warm spring weekend in the year 1989, when I was 9 years old. We were given money to get ice cream, and being in the fourth or fifth grade, we did exactly that. It was all of our favorite hangout treat, and being kids we scarfed it down in a matter of minutes. We usually wasted the rest of the day playing arcade games with the extra money we had._

 _When we were all broke and walking home, I left the group first. My house sat on the curb of the street I lived on, so I was always the first one to leave. My friends knew like an instinct this is where we'd part ways and they either shouted, "Byyye Armin!" Or "See ya, nerd!"_

 _Going inside of my house, I called for my parents, "Mommy! Dad! I'm home! I had fun today! We got ice cream and played a video game!"_

 _No response. I thought they didn't hear me at first, so I checked the kitchen, their rooms and the bathrooms. There was no sight of them. I was about to shout for them again until I stopped in the living room. Both of my parents were there but not in a way you'd expect._

 _I saw my mom knocked out on the carpet and my father face down on the couch. My father was less suspicious since it looked like he was napping._

 _I scurried to my passed out mother and kept trying to wake her up... It didn't work._

 _"Mommy... Mommy wake up! Why are you sleeping? Wake up!"_

 _I put my palm on her chest. There was no heartbeat. I tried again and again to make sure... There was nothing. My small mind couldn't be more confused and heartbroken._

 _Tears welled up in my eyes from thinking of the worst. Somehow, I had hope for my father. I rushed to the couch and tried my best to flip him over and check his heartbeat the same way I did with my mother._

 _There was nothing._

 _When I realized the worst was coming to reality, I almost lost my voice from screaming,"WAKE UP! COME ON!"_

 _I screamed more and more until my face became red. My mom and dad were dead and there was nothing I could do to change it. In the back of my young mind I knew that, but being so young and naive I truly thought I could save them. I didn't preform CPR or anything like that, I dialed 112 on our home phone like most people would. Within no time flat, there were two ambulances and three police cars outside of my house._

 _Instantly, I was a crying mess throughout everything, even a few hours after I called. The officers contacted my grandpa while trying to calm me down. They were telling me how smart and mature I was for calling, and that I was handling the situation very well for someone my age. I didn't think that at all. From what I could remember I was a crybaby and nothing more._

 _When it became dark outside, I saw an old car pull up. It was my grandpa arriving. He saw the flashing red and blue lights and ran to me as fast as his old bones could go._

 _"Armin! What happened, are you hurt? What did you do?!"_

 _I looked up at my grandpa with fear in my distraught puppy eyes. My breaths were ragged as I said, "Mommy and Dad aren't breathing... I came home and they were on the floor... I don't know what happened to them! I tried my best!"_

 _His eyes filled with tears from my response. He told me afterwards that I should stay with Eren for a few nights. I did, but only because I was scared of the situation. Grandpa was mourning and I didn't want to see any more than I already did._

 _The truth is now uncovered. I finally know why Mom and Dad are gone..._

My parents are dead because of those bastards! They ruined my life for the fun of it! It's bad enough I was bullied nonstop at the time of the crime. This news was just the cherry on top.

What did I do for the world to be against me?

Thinking back to the moment that tormented me for years elicited my buried anger towards the world. I felt like I could only control one side of my mind, the part where the simple tasks like breathing and blinking take place. The other side though, it was ready to snap from remembering the day my life changed forever.

"Why? What'd we do to deserve this?! Why did those people care what my family did? Why did they have to kill that many people? Eren, why did they kill my parents?!"

I was definitely being too loud at this point. Yuri began whining. I glanced over to him with a sense of guilt. He was burying his face in Annie's chest while Annie looked at me with her face in bewilderment and her eyes in pity. She's never really heard me raise my voice for most of our relationship. I didn't mean to scare her if I did. The silence continued on Eren's end as well, and I knew I must have shocked him too with how aggressive I sounded. I immediately forced myself to calm down and asked again more gently.

"Eren...I need to know. Why did they do this?"

[I was just about to get to that part. The detectors pointed out was that your parents were geniuses with their engineering skills, and others those men killed were similar. Now, your father's workshop had various blueprints and models that were similar to the products being sold at that jackass's company, and the same happened to many other families. This was found out because when they were investigating his unit or whatever, all of the stolen ideas were there and they had the dead people's signatures still written on them, so the possibilities of them killing for people's innovation is beyond coincidence. Those greedy assholes thinking they could get away with this... Thank fuckin' god they're dead...]

That part made sense too. When I was still small, I used to sneak into my parents' workshop, and before my father would kick me out, I remember there were things that seemed too futuristic to believe. The things him and my mom created were big, shiny, bold, and beautiful. They were things you'd want to steal. I clearly remember as a child my parents being so happy that they finally got a company to use their ideas, but I'm guessing that company is the one that stole their ideas by those poor excuses of human waste.

"I'm sorry... This is all such big news to me."

[Awe man! I know it's hard on you, but hey... at least Annie knows your pain. Her mother was involved too.]

I glanced at Annie, who was still staying strong. She held tightly onto our baby, prepping for the worst. This next part was going to hit her hard. I knew it would. But Annie always acted strong, even when she didn't feel it at all. That's just the kind of person she is, and this was no different. If I didn't know her so well, I wouldn't have thought anything was wrong, but I could tell her feelings were more similar to mine than she was letting on.

She steeled herself and asked, "How'd my mother leave?"

[She was... You know what, maybe it's best if I can convince your dad to tell you! He knows the whole story!]

"No! Tell me this instant!"

Her loud voice made Yuri cry a little in his sleep, and I think that made Eren give in more than Annie's harsh attitude. After all, Annie being a little aggressive was normal, but this time the circumstances were different.

[Hnnnnn... This part was coming eventually... Mr. Leonhardt made the point that I'm the closest one to the both of you and called to tell me a bit of family history and what the police said to him. He didn't want to tell Armin since he thought he'd be grieving.]

"Stop stalling. Tell me what happened."

[Hnnn... Fuck a bag... Annie, I don't think you knew this, but your mom was involved in prostitution when you were a little girl. Money was tough for you guys from what your dad told me, and your mom would sneak out to make extra money. Well, by the luck of things those assholes stumbled across your mother on vacation, and took advantage of her because, according to one of the journals that was talked about on television, she was young, beautiful and cheap. After they had their first round with her, the junkie one decided it'd be a great idea to pimp off a vulnerable woman without her husband knowing. Once they had enough fun and moved on with their crooked shit, your mother contracted AIDS from God knows where. What happened from there is obvious... I think your dad didn't want to tell you person to person was because he didn't want to be weak in front of his daughter.]

I looked over at Annie, unsure of how she would react to this information. Surprisingly, she didn't look as angry as I'd expected. Mostly she just seemed horrified and even a little sad. For a rare moment, her face softened, and I could see the flash of pain in her eyes. I could tell this was affecting her, even if she wasn't the best at expressing it.

"What the fuck..."

[The world's a messed up place. I know someone whose been through the same thing. If you ever want to talk to him I'll tell'em.]

Annie just shook her head somberly, slightly regaining her usual composure. I couldn't help but think back to everything she'd been through, everything we'd been through. Despite the horrors we've faced, at least I can say we have people who would risk their own lives to save us in a time of need. Not everyone can say they have that, and I can't be more grateful, especially now.

"Thank you, Eren... for everything. If the police found out we committed all of that back then, you would have ended up in jail with us for knowing about it. It's not just you... It's everybody back home. They all knew and could've gotten in trouble for it. I cannot describe how grateful I am for you guys. Annie is too, right?"

I held her soft hand in mine. Looking in her eyes, I noticed she had no emotion anymore, or at least any emotion I could identify. It was a mixture of sadness, anger, and what I thought to be happiness. It was so well mixed, it almost displayed nothing.

"Yes... Yes, thank you."

[It's nothing, you're welcome. I'm truly sorry for what happened... I can only imagine how hard it is on you guys. But hey, there's always a light in the sea of darkness.]

"What do you mean by that?"

[Well... hold on I need to ask Mikasa...] It was silent for a bit until in the backround you heard Eren scream, [MIIIKAAASAA!]

On the phone she yelled back at him, and after that they argued, then they apologized, argued some more, and came back to their senses.

[Alright calm down! I'll tell him! Tell Professor H. and Levi I'm really sorry for them. Hey blondies, I'm back! I got the details.]

"Stop making us wait, Jaeger."

[Sorry... Umm, this may seem out of the topic, but since this thing is being resolved, it's safe for you to come back to Germany now! Mikasa was telling me how back when we were sixteen you two would've been charged with murder, and that's why you guys ran away. However, if police were to catch you now, they'd let you free! Since those serial killers were trying to sexually assault you guys, it'd be taken as self defense, and people would believe you! Aaand since you guys have a baby, and haven't been doing any harm, that'd be taken into account too!]

I don't know how true all of this was. I'm considering the fact that Eren's not the sharpest tool in the shed and probably doesn't understand how these things work. The fact is, we wouldn't be free completely. The police would be understanding if they found out about us, yes. We have a small boy to raise, we haven't caused any trouble since we moved, and the people who groped me were mass murderers. But we did more than just kill out of defense, we (Annie for the most part) robbed people for their money to come here. Sure, robbery is less than taking a life, but it would still be held against us. I'm probably over exaggerating, since nobody would suspect two lanky teenagers killing two grown men, but thinking of the worst case scenario is how you prepare for it. What if one day I am separated from my family? I'd have to learn how to stay strong. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, I'm just trying to be realistic.

I couldn't say any of this to Eren, I didn't want to make him feel down for trying to be helpful. Thankfully he cracked the silence.

[There's more! If you really want to... Why not come to the wedding next year! You can stay with me or with your dad, Annie!]

"Wedding...?" Annie looked at me confused and turned to me like I had an answer waiting for her.

[Are you serious? Didn't they tell you? The two lesbos finally booked a ceremony for June!]

Did I hear that correctly? Gosh, living far away for so long made it easy to forget that the rest of them were moving on with their lives as well. Hearing that Krista and Ymir were really getting hitched was big news. Regardless of everything else going on, I couldn't help but be happy for them.

"Really? That's awesome!"

[Aaaand since you have the green light to visit... maybe I can buy you guys three tickets to come.]

"WHAT?!"

[It's my treat! I'm serious on this! If you can come you should!]

"If you're serious, than yeah we will! Let's do this!"

Sure, I would have to take off from work, plus it would be our first time traveling that far with Yuri, but there was no way I was going to miss something like this. All of my old friends getting together for something as happy as this? This opportunity is impossible to pass up!

[I'm feeling so much better from hearing that! Man, but my teacher won't be at school tomorrow so I gotta go get some sleep!]

"Alright. We have to go as well. Thank you so much for everything! I can't wait to see everyone again!

[And I can't wait for you! Bye!]

The phone beeped and the call ended. That was around an hour of wonder and heartbreak. It's probably past eleven by now. I grinned at Annie after looking at the clock, but that was very shortly lived. She didn't seem to notice me and tears were forming in her eyes. I didn't pay much attention to her throughout that entire call. I was so caught up in my emotions that it felt like she wasn't there anymore. I wanted to hug her and kiss her and tell her how amazing she is and say how sorry I was for not comforting her, but instead...

"Can I tuck him in? You look tired, get some rest."

To my surprise, Annie nodded and handed him over with only slight hesitation. She's probably wiped out from hearing all of what happened. At least I can say I had Eren to cheer me up. Annie... She didn't have that.

Tomorrow when I get home I'll get her a bunch of donuts for breakfast and we'll visit the kittens in the shelters. That'll definitely cheer her up. They're her two favorite things! (Besides Yuri, obviously.)

But now the present is more important. I've got a tired child to put to bed.

I heaved Yuri upstairs and gently laid him into his room, tucking him under his favorite blanket on his bed. Since there was nothing positive to distract me anymore, I couldn't stop thinking about all I'd just heard from Eren on the phone. My parents have been dead for 15 years and I thought I had accepted it by now, but that didn't make it hurt any less to finally find out who killed them and why. I looked down at my own little boy and tried to rid the bad memories from my mind, but it only made my heart ache even more thinking about what it must have been like for my parents. Suddenly, Yuri opened his bright green eyes groggily and looked right up at me. I'd tried so hard to keep my emotions under control but I guess I wasn't doing such a good job. Yuri took one look at me and grumpily asked, "Poppa, why are you crying?"

He obviously got that lack of sympathy from his mother.

I automatically raised a hand to my eyes, wiping away the few tears I wasn't even aware I had let out. I feel a little bit ashamed to be crying in front of my son like this. I'm not really sure what I should say to him. One thing came to my mind and I replied with a weak smile, "Sorry Yura. Poppa's not good at being strong like you and Mom are."

Yuri just looked at me quizzically for a moment before finally saying, "That's okay Poppa. Me and Mom can help you be strong."

I couldn't help but smile hearing him say that.

"I know. Go to sleep."

He didn't need to be told twice because he immediately let out a little yawn and closed his eyes again, his breaths becoming slow and even. This was a signal for me to go to bed too.

Across the hallway into my room, Annie was already passed out making whooshing sounds on her side of the room. I think it's cute how she sleep talks, but the last time I tried to kiss her cheek during it, I scared her and got punched by accident. Now I know better to admire it from afar and go to my bed. But before I could even wrap a blanket around myself, my phone went crazy once again. I checked it, and it turns out I was added to a group chat by Krista a long time ago. The call probably masked all of the incoming messages.

It's pretty obvious what this is about, so let's just start here:

Sasha

[The wedding is official! YE-HAW.]

Krista

[Yes! We plan for next summer.]

ConnieSpringhead

[Don't bring alcohol. Eren might bang someone else this time.]

Sasha

[Thank God neither of them are online to see this. HA.]

Krista

[You guys are so mean...]

Armin

[For real. Besides, they're together now]

Sasha

[OYA COCONUT. LONG TIME NO CHAT.]

Armin

[-_-]

Sasha

[Sorry! n o t.]

Krista

[Be mindful towards him. He just found out about his parents.]

Sasha

[Oh yeah... sorry about that. Eren told us everything...]

Armin

[It's fine... I'm over it. So the wedding's planned for next year?]

Krista

[Yup! I'm working on who to invite now. Ymir doesn't really know anyone so she doesn't mind too much on who comes.]

ConnieSpringhead

[Nice to know what she thinks of us. ;-;]

Krista

[Yeah well you know how she can be.]

Armin

[Well I don't know if Eren told you anything but... I'm coming with Annie and Yuri. Eren's giving me the money for plane tickets in a week:)]

Sasha

[REALLY?!]

ConnieSpringhead

[WJAY TNE FYUCK-]

 _ ***ConnieSpringhead has left the chat***_

Krista

[Wonderful!]

Armin

[I'll take that as Eren didn't really tell you everything]

 _ ***Ymir has entered the chat***_

Ymir

[Historia get off the phone and come to bed with me.]

Krista

[...You can tell me in person...]

Ymir

[I'm lonely. Get over here.]

 _ ***Ymir has left the chat***_

Krista

[I have to go -_- I can't wait to see you again Armin! *shriek*]

 _ ***Krista has left the chat***_

Sasha

[I'M SORRY I'M DYING NG IT'S JUST THAT IT'S BEEN EIGHY YEARS SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU SND YOU HSVE A B ABY nIW AND IT ISN'T EVEM A BABT ANYNLRE]

Armin

[Calm down. I can hear your voice screaming in the text :P ]

Sasha

[I'M SORRU I NEED A MINUTE, I THINK CONNIES CRYING]

Armin

[It's fine. Go to your boyfriend!~3]

Sasha

[STFU NO EWGROSS. BUT ILY AND I MISS YOU GOOD OLD FRIEND.]

 _ ***Sasha has left the chat***_

Armin

[lol]

...

Before this, I've never noticed how dumb we all really are. We talk like we're ten years old most of the time when we should be thinking of marriage. But I'm guessing that's good, right? It means they haven't changed since I left, and lord knows what's in store for next year if I can go see them all. I'm praying life will play out smoothly from now until then. I haven't felt my emotions this mixed in a long time. Hopefully the positive ones are outdoing the negative ones right now.

"Poppa, can I sleep with you tonight?"

Huh?

I looked around trying to see where that voice came from until I saw blond hair next to my bedside. It was only Yuri. He must've crawled out of his bed and snuck in here.

He asked if he could sleep in my bed, if I'm right? Hehe, no matter what I can't say no. What am I supposed to do? He could've had a bad dream or got scared of the dark. It'd be cruel of me to tell him to go back to his room.

"Of course. Come here."

He quickly climbed onto my bed and snuggled up against me in a little ball. I was waiting for him to suddenly open one eye, giggle and leave, but he really wanted to cuddle with me. Usually Annie is the one he'll snuggle next to, but I think for the first time since his birth, Yuri chose me.

You know, now that I think of it, life isn't so bad for me.

 _ **/AN**_

 _ **I AM SORRY ALSO FOR HOW LITTLE DIALOGUE YURA BAB HAD I WANTED THERE TO BE MORE I SWEAR-**_

 _ **There wasn't much for this chapter, and I'm not too worried about that. There wasn't much that would've happened, and I thought that this would have been an opportunity for more backstory. More will be uncovered in other chapters of course, but this is a very good portion. Speaking of other chapters, this one and the one prior may have seemed a bit short, but there's a reason. Next chapter will be probably the biggest I ever write, even larger than Firsts (which was 9,000 words). I have a lot in store for it, and I've been working on it since the prologue. So far, it has 3,000 words, and that's just mainly in dialogue. Be prepared my readers, it will be a long journey**_.

 **Bye for now!**


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